My Letter From Senator Craig of Idaho

Several months ago when the whole NSA wire tapping was breaking, I emailed my Senator at the time, Larry Craig, who is a conservative Republican and voiced my concerns on privacy. Idaho is known for its strong conservative values, but many of the residents are very unhappy with the violations of privacy issues. You know, they actually believe in small government. Those wacky conservatives. Who ever gave them the idea that the GOP party stood for small government....oh wait. Anyhow I tried to make my letter sound like it was from a regular good ol' boy who was 'skeered' the Government was invading my privacy and perhaps would be after my guns. Here was his response.

September 1, 2006


Quinn Andreas
PO BOX 71
Sandpoint, Idaho 83864

Dear Quinn:

Thank you for contacting me about the electronic surveillance program run by the National Security Agency (NSA), which has been criticized for collecting information about U.S. persons within the United States, without obtaining a warrant or court order. I appreciated hearing from you and apologize for the delay in my response.

The President's first priority is to protect and defend our country against our enemies. Congress also granted the President special authority to act decisively with regard to engaging those responsible for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It is the position of the President and his advisors that the NSA program is fully supported by his constitutional authority, federal law, and this Congressional authorization.

However, on August 17, a federal judge ruled that the NSA's actions violated the First and Fourth amendments to the Constitution, as well as the doctrine of separation of powers. It remains to be seen if and how this issue is settled by the courts through the appeal process.

Meanwhile, several different bills relating to the NSA program are working their way through the Congress. There are options to increase oversight over the program, force judicial review of it, amend various aspects of it, or specifically authorize it in federal law. It is expected that in September, legislation along these lines will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, followed by the Senate Intelligence Committee. It is unclear whether such legislation will reach the Senate floor for a vote before Congress adjourns for the elections.

Complicating legislative action is the fact that many specifics about the NSA's operations are classified and cannot easily be probed and discussed, even if members of Congress felt that was appropriate in a time of war.

Because many different legal and political cross-currents could influence the development of this issue, it is simply not possible to predict what options I will have to cast a vote or provide input. However, I can tell you generally what my concerns are: First of all, in matters of national security, I want the President to have the authority to act immediately to protect our country against our enemies. From what we know to date, his approval of the NSA program does not constitute misconduct or warrant sanctions; despite the court ruling, even legal experts disagree as to the extent of his authority in this particular instance.

That said, I am wary of giving our intelligence agencies carte blanche in the name of fighting terrorism. The Constitution cannot simply be waived or ignored by federal authorities when its restrictions become inconvenient, and the President cannot unilaterally shift the balance of power just because the constitutional process for making such changes is difficult. Last year, I took a stand against certain provisions of the PATRIOT Act that I felt unnecessarily threatened the civil liberties of innocent Americans, and I succeeded in gaining changes in the law to avoid that harm without hindering legitimate law enforcement operations. I would not hesitate to take such action again in this case, if it becomes necessary.

In any event, you can be sure that I will continue to follow this issue closely and will keep your comments in mind. Again, thank you for contacting me about this critically important issue. Please let me know whenever I can be of further assistance to you in the U.S. Senate.

Sincerely,

LARRY E. CRAIG
United States Senator

LEC\wmr

There you have it. If you can believe what he says, even Bush supporters will bend so far. I love his line "The Constitution cannot simply be waived or ignored by federal authorities when its restrictions become inconvenient, and the President cannot unilaterally shift the balance of power just because the constitutional process for making such changes is difficult." We need to pressure all of Congressmen to stand up to Bush and remind them of upholding the Constitution.