They disclosed it at the end of the week, in hopes you’d forget. That’s why I’m writing about it on a Monday.
Under the control of the Bush administration, the FBI has broken the law, even the hugely lax law known as the Patriot Act. The FBI has repeatedly demanded personal information about citizens, using its power to issue a National Security Letter which must be obeyed and which cannot be questioned. The existence of such a National Security Letter cannot even be disclosed by a person, business, library or other entity that has been served a letter. And the National Security Letters are issued without so much as a warrant, in flagrant violation of the United States Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which reads:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
But you see, all of that stuff described above? That’s not the illegal part. The United States Congress passed the Patriot Act in 2001, despite the fact that it violates the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment so flagrantly. The U.S. Supreme Court won’t rule that it’s unconstitutional even though a straight literal reading of the Fourth Amendment shows it to be, because George W. Bush has packed the Supreme Court with right-wing nutcases and congressional Democrats gave their big old hokey-dokey to it.
No, all that business is legal if unconstitutional. The illegal and unconstitutional part is:
1. The FBI told the Congress that it was using fewer National Security Letters than it was actually using.
2. The FBI was using National Security Letters in non-emergency situations.
3. The FBI was using National Security Letters even when national security was not at issue.
4. The FBI was collecting information beyond that necessary for national security, and then keeping it.
Now Congressional Democrats are saying that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign because he allowed such violations of law to occur. But they miss the point. Whenever you set up a system that violates the Constitution, permitting people to spy on other people without warrant and without account, permitting them to lie to others about their activity without account, what will happen? What happens whenever you create unaccountable power over others — that power will be abused.
The problem is not that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is an evil human being. The primary problem is that the Patriot Act and the Bush administration’s edicts have created a system in which the government can violate citizens’ constitutional rights and get away with it. The secondary problem is that the Republicans and Democrats in Congress have allowed George W. Bush and his administration to do so. The tertiary problem is that Bush has stacked the courts with authoritarians and the Republicans and Democrats in Congress have allowed him to do so. We have now set up a system in which abuse of power goes unpunished and unchecked.
The Presidency — drunk on power
The Supreme Court — worshippers of power
The Congress — cowed to power
Well, that’s all three branches of government. Who’s left to stop this madness?
Me and you.
Unless we can manage to raise a bigger ruckus about liberty and government accountability than we currently do about Britney Spears’ hairdo, nothing will get better.
[Update: NPR helpfully provides direct access to the two reports on FBI lawbreaking. Read here and here if you want the original source material.]
The government not only doesn’t work as it was designed due to all the games politicians have played with the law over the years (like making corporations “citizens” and allowing lobbyists to write legislation), but now it’s pretty much out of control and unaccountable. Congress can’t seem to reign in Bush because all the right wing rhetoric makes any move they make part of the 2008 election ammunition. Oh, they supported the war by funding it; oh, they’re traitors because they oppose the commander in chief; and on and on. No debate of real issues, no honest look at policy, just popularity contests held here and there. What a sad joke Amerikkkan democrazy has become.