"a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way."But I also liked the analysis that Slate.com's Timothy Noah offered as he compared these two statements by Bush -- one quote from before and one quote from after he was caught violating federal law.
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On a related note, I have no problem with MSNBC hiring a "terrorism expert" who happens to be a former FBI agent. A person with that background might be able to offer insights on how intelligence is gathered, what approaches to intelligence-gathering are most successful, and so on. But on Sunday night, an MSNBC newscaster interviewed this individual and asked him whether Bush had violated federal law by failing to seek FISA court orders (not even retroactively).
His answer -- no shock at all -- was "no." Earth to MSNBC news directors: what's the sense in posing such a question to someone who worked for years in a culture that celebrates existing and expanding federal police and investigatory powers?
This kind of question would be more appropriately asked of someone who: a) has some knowledge of constitutional law, and b) can offer a more impartial assessment than a career FBI agent.
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