"No Hereditary Kings in America"
I have read through Judge Anna Diggs Taylor opinion* in the federal case of ACLU v. NSA, i.e., the federal case over the constitutionality of the President's authorizing the NSA to spy wholesale on Americans without warrants. It makes good reading, with an interesting section (Part IV) on "The History of Electronic Surveillance in America".
In short, Judge Taylor determined that the President's authorizing the program
- violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution;
- violated the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution; and
- violated the Constitutional principle of separation of powers.
As is being mentioned by virtually anyone who comments on the decision, the words of Judge Taylor that resound and echo are these:
We must first note that the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its
powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created
by the Constitution. So all “inherent powers” must derive from that Constitution.
One hopes this is the beginning of the end of that silly "unitary president" idea cooked up by the legal nitwits in the current administration.
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*Available here.
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on Thursday, 17 August 2006 at 23.31
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Every time I think about this, I get another "through the looking glass" moment. It's like how, in 2006, can we be having this controversy? The wrong being done is so obviously, blatantly and unquestionably in violation of both the spirit and letter of the Constitution. Plus, there's the statutory FISA law.
It's much like I imagine it would be to wake up one day and learn it's going to be necessary to re-potty train a 20-year-old offspring: Oh no, this can't be happening.