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An Impeachable Offense? Bush Admits Authorizing NSA to Eavesdrop
on Americans Without Court Approval
Leftist Union Leader Evo Morales Poised to Become First Indigenous
President of Bolivia
WTO Talks Close with Partial Trade Agreement, Over 900 Protesters
Arrested in Hong Kong
An Impeachable Offense? Bush Admits Authorizing NSA
to Eavesdrop on Americans Without Court Approval
President Bush has admitted he secretly ordered the National
Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without ever seeking
court approval. Famed constitutional attorney Martin Garbus
and former intelligence officer, Christopher Pyle both say
it is an impeachable offense. We also speak with investigative
journalist James Bamford about the history of the NSA. Plus,
The New York Times exposed the story, but why did they hold
it for more than a year? [includes rush
transcript]
President Bush has admitted he secretly ordered the National
Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without ever seeking
constitutionally-required court approved warrants. Under the
program -- authorized in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks
-- the agency has monitored the international phone calls
and e-mails of hundreds -- and possibly thousands -- of people
inside the country. The New York Times broke the story Friday.
Hours later, Bush was interviewed by PBS' Jim Lehrer.
- President Bush, interviewed on
PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, December 16, 2005.
Bush later reiterated he would not comment on the program
because doing so would: "compromise our ability to protect
the people." But less than twenty-hours later, after
a storm of public criticism, he reversed his position. This
is President Bush, in his weekly radio address Saturday.
The disclosure has led to bi-partisan calls for a congressional
investigation. In response, administration officials pointed
out both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders had
been briefed on the program. But former Democratic Senator
Bob Graham, who attended the briefings as chair of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Post he was never
informed of the two key issues to arise from the disclosure.
Graham says he was never told the government was eavesdropping
on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the country, nor
was he told it was bypassing the special courts imposed by
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
Under FISA, the government can obtain warrants directly from
a special court that requires almost no evidence or probable
cause. Passed by Congress in late 1970s, FISA describes it
itself and the criminal wiretap statutes as "the exclusive
means by which electronic surveillance . . . may be conducted."
Several analysts have questioned the administration's decision
to not seek court-approved warrants when FISA courts have
almost never rejected them. According to the Electronic Privacy
Information Center, FISA courts have rejected only FOUR of
over 15,000 warrant requests made since 1979. That number
includes over 4,000 warrant requests since the 9/11 attacks.
The Washington Post notes the revelation marks the third
time in as many months the Bush administration has been forced
to defend a departure from previous restraints on domestic
surveillance. Most recently, NBC News reported last week the
Pentagon has been conducting domestic intelligence on peaceful
anti-war protesters and others.
But the revelation also marks the second time in as many
months one of the country's leading newspapers has withheld
information at the request of the Bush administration. In
a November piece on the existence of CIA-run, Soviet-era prisons
in Eastern Europe, the Washington Post complied with a White
House request to withhold information administration officials
said could be harmful to national security. In its report
Friday, the New York Times revealed it had not only withheld
information, but had in fact delayed publishing the story
-- also at the government's request - for at least one year.
- Martin Garbus, a partner in the law firm of Davis
& Gilbert LLP. Time Magazine calls him "one
of the best trial lawyers in the country," while the
National Law Journal has named him one of the country's
top ten litigators.
- James Bamford, investigative journalist and author of
several books including the first book ever written about
the National Security Agency called "The Puzzle Palace
: Inside America's Most Secret Intelligence Organization."
He is also author of "Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the
Ultra-Secret National Security Agency"; and most recently,
"A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's
Intelligence Agencies."
- Christopher Pyle, Professor of Politics at Mt. Holyoke.
In 1970 Pyle disclosed the military's surveillance of civilian
politics and, as a consultant to three Congressional committees,
worked to end it.
Leftist Union Leader Evo Morales Poised to Become
First Indigenous President of Bolivia
In Bolivia, union leader Evo Morales has claimed a stunning
victory in Sunday's presidential elections. Exit polls show
Morales won just over 50% of the vote - giving him the greatest
political mandate that any Bolivian president has had in decades.
Morales would become the country's first indigenous head of
state. He has vowed to increase state controls over Bolivia's
key gas resources and to protect coca plantations. We go to
Bolivia for a report. [includes rush
transcript]
Exit polls from Bolivia's presidential election suggest a
clear victory for left-wing Aymara Indian candidate, Evo Morales.
Morales is a former coca leaf-grower and union leader. If
elected, he would become Bolivia's first indigenous head of
state.
Two separate exit polls showed Morales getting 51 percent
of the vote, 20 points ahead of his nearest challenger, former
President Jorge Quiroga. Quiroga conceded defeat Sunday and
offered his congratulations to Morales and his Movement Toward
Socialism party.
- Evo Morales, speaking in Cochabamba, December 18th ,
2005
The official election results have yet to be released. If
no candidate wins 50% of the votes, the new parliament - also
being elected on Sunday - will formally vote on who the next
president should be.
Bolivia, South America's poorest state, has had five presidents
in four years. Large-scale street demonstrations by Indian
and union groups over the country's economic policies have
toppled the last two presidents. It is currently governed
by a caretaker President, Eduardo Rodriguez.
Bolivia's indigenous people make up more than half the population.
On Sunday, Morales reiterated his pledge to increase state
control over Bolivia's vast natural gas resources and to protect
coca plantations. Bolivia is the world's third largest coca
producer of coca leaf, the base ingredient of cocaine but
also a medicinal plant popular with indigenous people. He
said that under his administration, "there will be zero
cocaine, zero drug trafficking but not zero coca."
The Bush administration has criticized Morales for his close
ties to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and Cuban president
Fidel Castro as well as his opposition to so-called free-trade
policies. Morales closed his campaign Thursday by declaring
his election would be a: "nightmare for the United States."
- Jim Shultz executive director of the Democracy Center
in Cochabama, Bolivia. He writes a blog on Bolivia that
can be found at DemocracyCtr.org.
WTO Talks Close with Partial Trade Agreement, Over
900 Protesters Arrested in Hong Kong
The World Trade Organization wrapped up its six-day ministerial
meeting on Sunday with a partial trade agreement. On Saturday
police arrested 900 protesters during widespread protests
on the streets of Hong Kong led by farmers, peasants and union
members. We go to Hong Kong for a report. [includes rush
transcript]
Yesterday was the close of the World Trade Organization's
ministerial meeting in Hong Kong. Sunday wrapped up six days
of talks by trade ministers from 149 countries looking to
rewrite trade laws on agriculture, industrial goods and services.
WTO negotiators cut a last minute deal on Sunday that would,
among other things, end all agricultural export subsidies
by 2013. Developing nations have charged that such government
farm support to promote exports undercuts the ability of poor
farmers to sell their goods. Many of these nations, led by
Brazil, were pushing to end the payments by 2010. Non-governmental
organizations expressed disappointment at the agreement. The
relief agency OXFAM released a statement that read, "This
is a profoundly disappointing text and a betrayal of development
promises by rich countries whose interests have prevailed
yet again."
Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets during
the conference. On Saturday, almost 1,000 protestors marched,
confronted police and tried to force their way into the conference
hall. 900 of the protestors were arrested. Most of the demonstrators
were South Korean farmers worried that the trade organization's
rules would require their country to allow imports of inexpensive
rice.
On Sunday, 5,000 demonstrators took to the streets to protest
the talks. We go to Hong Kong to speak with Anuradha Mittal.
- Anuradha Mittal, founder and director of The
Oakland Institute, a California-based think that advocates
for fair trade.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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