While the program obtained information that "had value in some counterterrorism investigations, it generally played a limited role in the F.B.I.'s overall counterterrorism efforts," the report concluded.

i thought the fbi and mueller stopped handling such cases because they were worried it would blow up in their face..

looks like mueller was smart...

Instead of occupying a cell in Leavenworth John Yoo is still a professor at Berkeley Law School enjoying the full support of the school's administration and faculty. Sad how the years have tamed Berkeley. In the old days Berkeley students and faculty stood four square against war criminals. Today,not so much.

The former president explicitly said ... Like most of the former president's claims...

Six months and several disappointments in, and that phrase still lifts my soul.

I have to wonder whether Bush's extraordinary political success in obtaining the political consent and/or silence of the Democratic Party and the Media in the period of 2001 to 2004 was not somehow connected to this warrantless wiretapping program, which was directed to a "pretty darn big" group of citizens, and developed minimal information about actual terrorists.

It became more widely known in 2004, was scandalous enough to raise a threat of widespread resignations in the Justice Department, and shocked even John Ashcroft. And then, the political tide started to turn. Coincidence?

With each revelation, it becomes apparent the Bush/Cheney regime was working for a permanent Republican majority by using fear of terrorism as a leveraging canard.

Wow, historically we were just witnesses to how vulnerable and fragile a democratic system based on the rule of law actually is! For Bush/Cheney it seems our democratic heritage and the rule of law meant doodly-squat when there was real power to wield! -Kevo

I agree with Tom. We will eventually discover that the Bush/Rove/Cheney cabal was spying on domestic political opponents. They were willing to torture people to death, so reading Tom Daschle's email was no big deal.

@Tom in Ma, absolutely. Some day we'll find out that Bush and/or Cheney kept a file on the democrats and most of the corporate media. To me it's the only thing that explains their silence. Of course this information will be only be released when they're sure it will elicit no more than a yawn from the public.

Jimbo beat me to it and much more succinct.

Eric Holder, get the subpoenas! I don't care what the President says; no matter what Bush and Sarah Palin may think, he doesn't control the "department of law." Do your job. Now.

Obama and Co. have got to get tougher on these folks. Send them to a Gitmo like camp, and treat them like we treat those at Gitmo. This has gone way too far. These people (Yoo, Bush, Cheney, ADDINGTON) are guilty of High Treason. Indeed, shoot them or hang them and let the bodies rot.

The President and the Congress, by law, are required to enforce all laws including indicting all who have violated those laws like the former president Bush who has clearly violated MANY of our laws. And yet the current President and Congress are not enforcing those laws, are not conforming to their constitutional duties. Why ? And, at the same time, I recently read about homeless man in New Orleans who had been made homeless due to the economic policies of Bush and his goons. One day he walked into a bank and robbed it of exactly $100.00. The very next day he walked into a police station and turned the money back in explaining that his mother taught him this sort of thing is just wrong, no matter what. And what do you think happened then ? The police arrested him. When his court date happened the judge then SENTENCED HIM TO 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROBBERY ! Welcome to you sick fucking country.

Any program which

A: Gives senior officials the capability to conduct warrantless wiretaps on its own citizens.

B: Is subject to no scrutiny by independent third-parties operating under a rule of even minimal law...

C: Gives that power to David Addington, Dick Cheney and Karl Rove....

Is incredibly dangerous and a threat to democracy as we know it. I wonder if we will ever know just how much information Rove had at his fingertips during the bush reign. The thought is totally chilling.

My first thought after each revelation of criminality by the Bush administration is how did they think they were going to get away with this? But Kevo has reminded me that they all bought into Rove's fantasy of a permanent Republican majority. If you think your regime will be passed on to a close friend or relative, you don't have to hide your wrong doings.

There is no mention of any aspect of this on the CNN web site.

They could easily get into a lot more than just their opponents email.

How much of the financial collapse might trace back to a couple of extra-lucky investors who are friends of the Bushes?

Back during the 2004 campaign Kerry alluded in a speech to "coversations" with foreign leaders, which given his known schedule could only mean phone conversations. When Cheney was asked for comment he said confidently something like "Never happened". Which raised the question in my mind "How could he possibly know?"

Well that question may be answered today. We have exactly no reason NOT to believe that a White House alternately run from Dick Cheney and Karl Rove's respective offices would use national security wiretaps to eavesdrop on Kerry's phone conversations. And not just with foreign leaders. I have myself no reason to believe that when it comes to campaign spying that the Cheney/Rove Administration would have held themselves to a higher standard than Nixon's Plumbers.

There is no mention of any aspect of this on the CNN web site.

********************************

nope, there are busy making polls about it bothers people if obama has an occasional smoke ... you know, the real important stuff

I immediately thought of the FBI complaints that warrantless wiretaps brought in such a plethora of fruitless investigations that it made a complete hash of actual informed inquiries spurred by actual leads and legwork. One quick search on that brought a reminder of how this has turned into a circular and fruitless debate
http://www.nytimes.com/cfr/international/slot2_020506.html
ITMFA was all over the web...and went nowhere in Congress.