Censuring the President

I realize that you and two of your colleagues, Sens. Snowe and DeWine are working on legislation regarding the wiretaps. This is a good start. However, the battle is about to get hotter. Monday, Sen. Feingold, whom I also respect, will introduce a resolution to censure the President because of the wiretapping.

I wrote you three letters back in December asking specific questions about the law and the wretaps becasue I was concerned that he was possibly violating the law with the program. You also said in the Judiciary Committee Hearing that wiretaps involving US citizens required a warrant. I pointed this out in December, my questions all centered around FISA and the President’s assertion that S. J. Res. 23 (2001) allowed him the authority, FISA, notwithsatnding, to conduct warrantless wiretaps. One of your responeses to this was that when you voted for the S. J. Res. 23 (2001) you did not envision wiretapping as authorized under this resolution.

In light of these facts, I think it is time to have a full investigation of the program. This needs to be done before any legislation is passed regarding this program. It needed to be done as soon as the program and reports about an overbroad scope came to light. I also think we need to investigate to prove the merits or demerits of Sen. Feingold’s resolution.

I realize that getting an investigation started now will be difficult because of the political moment and election season. Howerver, we need to have an open investigation and see what the scope of the program actually is and weather it did or did not break any laws. We always want to believe that our President did not break any laws and it is never easy to investigate, but we need to answer the open questions and allegations now with objective fact. This is the only way the country will move forward.

This is beyond conservativative/liberal, republican/democrat, or any other division we may find. It goes to the heart of our country. I beleive that you have an even more important role to play in upholding the Constitution, laws, and balance of power becasue you swore to do so as an Air Force Officer and a judge. You also have been a part of bipartisan compromises, like the Group of 14. These roles prove your knowledge in the law and ability to be fair-minded when in evaluating these situations.

Please call for an investigation so that we may know weather Sen. Feingold’s resolution holds any merit. If it does than the President should be censured and where it goes from there is up to the House. Let’s get this right once and for all and explore the truth of the question of weather any laws were broken in the furtherance of the policy.

Thank you. God bless you.