Usurping Congress: A Presidential Strategy To Avoid Legality

Here's an interesting extension of the whole warrantless surveilance of banks on hehalf of the president's "war on terror," which is begining to look more and more like a war on American Civil Liberties:

Q Going back to The New York Times story. You were talking about since September the 11th, and you said we'd fight terror with every means at our disposal. Could you define that phrase for us?

MR. SNOW: Yes, every means legally. That means that you will use intelligence -- by the way, let me back up, because I --

Q That's not what you said -- "at our disposal."

MR. SNOW: Every means at our disposal -- then I will claim guilty to a bit of loose verbiage, because when I say, at our disposal as a government, at our disposal are not illegal means. That is not at our disposal. As a President who has sworn to uphold, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, live within the Constitution and live within the boundaries of the law -- within the Constitution and the boundaries of the law, we will do what we can to try to prevent terrorists from killing innocent people.

Let me also add, and just -- and I'll let you get back -- the executive order is Executive Order 13224, signed on September 21, 2001. It authorized the Treasury Department, in conjunction with other Cabinet agencies, to use all appropriate measures to identify, track and pursue not only those who commit terrorist acts here and abroad, but also those who provide financial and other support. So that is your legal justification.

Also, it is firmly rooted -- and I apologize for this, I had not flipped my page, because I did have the brief on it -- other statutory mandates and executive orders. These would include the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. I will repeat, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, and also the United Nations Participation Act. So those are some of the key bases legally for this program.

Q Tony, the critics are pointing to the emergency section of that second --

MR. SNOW: Well, look, you've got a war on terror. It is an emergency. They can -- if they want to argue that terrorists are still --

Q He can do that temporarily, but then he needs to seek congressional authority to continue. It's been going on for five year.

MR. SNOW: Let's see how this proceeds.

Indeed. W, Rove and Co Modus Operandi is to proceed until caught with hands in the cookie jar.