My main man Glenn Greenwald, (why do you think he's on C&L now) catapults this story into the open.
"In June, 2002, Republican Sen. Michael DeWine of Ohio introduced legislation (S. 2659) which would have eliminated the exact barrier to FISA which Gen. Hayden yesterday said is what necessitated the Administration bypassing FISA. Specifically, DeWine's legislation proposed: to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to modify the standard of proof for issuance of orders regarding non-United States persons from probable cause to reasonable suspicion. . . .In other words, DeWine's bill, had it become law, would have eliminated the "probable cause" barrier (at least for non-U.S. persons) which the Administration is now pointing to as the reason why it had to circumvent FISA...read on"
Not only did Bush have the power before, but now their own excuse is destroyed. As others have noted, the WaPo and the LA Times are on the case now. Let's hear what Hinderaker has to say now. Iguess we'll have to wait till Rove comes up with something first.
