Bush Says Congress Putting US in Danger
Legal News Feed
With a government eavesdropping law about to expire, Washington is awash in accusations over who's to blame. President Bush said Friday that "our country is in more danger of an attack" because of Congress' failure to adopt a Senate bill that would have renewed a law that made it easier for the government to spy on foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States.
That bill also would have shielded from lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government wiretap U.S. computer and phone lines after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks without clearance from a secret court that was established specifically to oversee such activities. In its competing version of the legislation, the House intentionally left out that feature.
"American citizens must understand, clearly understand that there's still a threat on the homeland. There's still an enemy which would like to do us harm," Bush said. "We've got to give our professionals the tools they need, to be able to figure out what the enemy is up to so we can stop it."
"By blocking this piece of legislation, our country is more in danger of an attack," he said.
Democrats, in turn, accused Bush of fear-mongering and misrepresenting the facts.
"This is not about protecting Americans. The president just wants to protect American telephone companies," Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, head of the House Democratic Caucus, said Friday.
Beyond the rhetoric, the central issue is what the government can and can't do come midnight Saturday, when a temporary eavesdropping law adopted by Congress last August expires.
That law let the government initiate wiretaps for up to one year against a wide range of targets. It also explicitly compelled telecommunications companies to comply with the orders, and protected them from civil lawsuits that may be filed against them for doing so.
Related listings
-
Paulson, Bernanke: No recession in '08
Legal News Feed 02/14/2008Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson both acknowledged problems in the U.S. economy Thursday, but both said they believe the nation will avoid falling into recession.However, the two added at a hearing before the ...
-
Lawmakers Fault FEMA on Trailers
Legal News Feed 01/29/2008Democratic leaders of a House science subcommittee alleged yesterday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency manipulated scientific research into the potential danger posed by a toxic gas emitted in trailers still housing tens of thousands of su...
-
Ex-Ill. Gov Appeals to US Supreme Court
Legal News Feed 01/24/2008Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to reverse his racketeering and fraud conviction, claiming he did not receive a fair trial.Ryan's lawyers said in a petition to the court that the trial judge replaced two jur...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.