Constant's pations

If it's more than 30 minutes old, it's not news. It's a blog.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Investigating Illegal NSA Activity

The President has another problem. He's blocked an investigation into something the court has called illegal. This is not a lawful act.

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We need to see some serious shift in Congress. Their days of assenting to dubious executive privilege is over. The Federal Court has officially classified the activity as illegal. There is no need to craft a bill to decide whether the FISA court should or should not review the program; nor is there any need to spend any time debating whether or not this diversionary bill will or will not be suitable to the President.

The court made it clear that the Constitution governs, creates, and otherwise strictly controls the President's narrowly defined and finite power. He has no inherent power to violate the Constitution; nor does he have any lawful power to mandate that anyone keep silent about illegal activity.

The days of phony threats and intimidation against the DOJ in order to get them to remain silent on this illegal activity are over. It is time for fact finding, Congressional hearings, investigations, appointment of a special prosecutor, and an open discussion of which grand jury members are going to be given the privilege to indict the President for violating the law.

DoJ Staffers well know that they no longer have any legal foundation to no longer report peer misconduct. Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald already suspects the White House has deleted Cheney's e-mails. It remains to be seen what excuses Congress creates to not review what is now officially illegal. It is not impressive for any member of Congress to invoke "the election is around the corner"-argument: That threat is by design to act as a catalyst for action, not as an excuse to assent to criminals in the White House.

It's time to stop calling Mr. Bush the President, and call him what he is: A criminal, who has violated the law, and he is no longer fit to be called President.

We've seen in Connecticut what a mobilized citizenry can do: They will rebuke those who arrogantly defy logic and the law.

Specter no longer has an excuse. His letter to Cheney woefully whining that the Vice President didn't give him the Lieberman love-eye at the buffet line fails to impress. Specter has a job: Enforce the law. It's time he did his job.

All Presidential claims of "executive privilege" on this matter are meaningless. He has no power to classify anything that is related to illegal conduct. Rather, the court ruling means that all information, planning, notes, and other evidence related to the illegal activity is subject to subpoena, grand jury investigation, and it should be known to the NSA General Counsel that their office shall make a timely notification to all staff to retain all documents. This is not a code word to do what Andersen did in re Enron. Rather, the goal is simple: To remind the NSA employees and contractors that if you destroy additional evidence, your punishment will be more severe.

It is already provable what has gone wrong, and what has been violated. The problem the telecoms have is that the Verizon General Counsel has failed to deny specific conduct; and has openly discussed the means by which data is transferred from Verizon to the government. Verizon General Counsel is a former US Asst. Attorney General. He well knows the legal requirements, and well understand CALEA.

Cheney and Specter well know the details of the billing program. Cheney knows enough to call directly to the telecom companies, listen to their excuses not to cooperate with Congress, and then intimidate Senator Specter's peers on the Judiciary Committee to not review what the Court finds is illegal.

It is illegal for witnesses to be dissuaded from providing truthful testimony to Members of Congress or a grand jury. It’s also not lawful for the Vice President to invoke some special power, immunity or privilege on this matter. The court finds that the conduct is not lawful; and there is no legal foundation for the Executive to assert any barrier to discovery.

President Nixon learned from the Supreme Court that there are limits to privilege. The Executive Orders fully in force with respect to Telcordia, Verizon, Narus, and AT&T are well known to the intermediaries as being a restriction against classifying illegal activity.

It is well understood the NARUS STA 6400, and how the intermediaries worked with AT&T and Verizon to transfer data without lawful warrants. Qwest chose not to cooperate. The Verizon General counsel has refuse to retract his public remarks otherwise discussing the means by which Verizon data could be transferred to the NSA through intermediaries.

The States of Maine, Missouri, Vermont, New Jersey, and others have decided to do what Congress refuses to do: Investigate. The Department of Justice is illegally thwarting lawful inquiry into a pattern of conduct the court finds is not lawful. It is not appropriate for the American Bar Association to remain silent while Asst. Attorney General Keisler and his lackey Attorney Haas continue engaging in non-sense assertions that illegal activity, which Verizon General Counsel has commented on, can be classified or is protected. Rather, the court finds that the course of conduct is illegal, and the States may lawfully expand their inquiry to review the other patterns of conduct that similarly fail to gather warrants or otherwise violate the law.

Whether the DOJ OPR is or is not given access to the illegal activity is irrelevant. The next phase of the investigation shifts into examining which specific DoJ Counsel, despite the finding of the court, continue to thwart lawful inquiry and otherwise continue destroying evidence. Your conduct brings discredit upon the United States, your profession, and the American legal system. You have shown that you cannot be trusted to obey a court order, nor ensure that you fully enforce the law, even when a clerk working in the oval office decides to violate the law.

It is time to fully cooperate with lawful inquiry; and fully cooperate with the ongoing grand jury investigation. It is not appropriate for anyone inside the Department of Justice to hold onto any false notion that you are above the law. Rather, as the clerk in the oval office has found, your job is to obey the law, cooperate with the DOJ OPR.

Any claim that the DoJ OPR has been "denied clearance" to review this illegal activity shall be construed as an adverse attempt to obstruct justice, and otherwise additional evidence warranting stiffer penalties under the Sentencing Guidelines. The court finds that the conduct is not lawful; and any requirement on anyone in DoJ OPR to "get clearance" is meaningless. These are issues of criminal law. Nobody in DoJ OPR has to "get clearance" to review evidence related to illegal conduct. This conduct cannot lawfully be classified by anyone, even the clerk in the oval office. Anyone in the Department of Justice, including the small minded one named Keisler, who says that this ongoing illegal activity can lawfully remain classified, is giving unreliable, illegal, and non-authorized direction to thwart the DOJ OPR from doing its job.

Senator Specter and Vice President Cheney have a problem. It is openly known that they are well aware of the illegal NSA activity; and they have openly memorialized their understanding of the news related to those disclosures. Rather than deny the activity, the Vice President has substantially confirmed that the billing-access activity is real; and that the conduct is otherwise known to be of a concern to the telecom CEOs. Rather than fully cooperate with the inquiry, this Vice President chooses to hide behind Addington's flawed, defective, illegal, and reckless legal advice and chooses to pretend that he too is above the law.

Addington has shown himself to be unreliable. It remains unclear why the DoJ Staff continues to take him seriously. Moreover, despite claims of privilege, all documents Addington has reviewed related to the illegal NSA activities are evidence. Addington may not lawfully issue any order to anyone, nor instruct anyone to classify, hide, or otherwise destroy this evidence. His problem is that he's already linked with the policy, memoranda, and other legal guidance that would otherwise be sufficient to indict, prosecute, and convict him for war crimes.

Again, in no uncertain terms, it is time for the Executive Branch personnel to realize what the court finds: The clerk sitting in the oval office is a criminal, he has violated the law, and anything you know about the illegal NSA activity cannot lawfully be protected by any claim of secrecy. Rather, under the rules of evidence and the Executive Orders you are to fully cooperate with all Congressional Inquiry, and you are to report to the Congress any efforts by anyone, including Addington, Keisler, or Gonzalez, of any ruse, plan, or anything else that dissuades you from immediately providing the full information Congress requires.

At the same time, you are to fully cooperate with all inquiry by the sates into the illegal NSA activities. Any claim by Keisler or anyone else in the Executive Branch that this activity is protected, classified, or otherwise privileged is not to be believed. The court finds that the clerk in the oval office is a criminal; that he has violated the law; and that no information related to any illegal activity may be classified. Your job is to report to the media, public, industry leadership, and most of all the IG and Members of Congress any effort by anyone to dissuade you from freely reporting evidence you have related to the non-protected, illegal NSA activities.

There is no reason to delay. There is no need to review guidance. Your job in the DoJ Staff is to immediately cooperate with the DOJ OPR, turn over all information you have related to this illegal activity. The President's direction that you not cooperate with the DOJ OPR is not enforceable. The court finds that the clerk in the oval office has violated the law; and he may not lawfully prevent the DoJ from reviewing evidence of illegal activity.

The DOJ IG and NSA IG also have the requirement, under the rules of the House, to provide urgent action messages to the Committees. Title 50 also includes a mandatory reporting requirement for illegal activity. It is clear that the president has violated Title 50. The court finds that the clerk in the oval office has directed illegal activity. It is the job of the DoJ and NSA IG to reporting immediately to the agency head, and request in writing a copy of the orders which the clerk in the oval office has issued that prevent the DoJ and NSA Inspector General's from reviewing this illegal activity. No message, memoranda, or order is enforceable when it prevents the IG from reviewing illegal conduct. No one may assert there is any claim of privilege on matters that are illegal. The Inspector General have a duty to report their results in a timely fashion -- within 7 days -- to their respective Committee Chairmen and Minority Members.

It is expected that we move with all due speed to organize a Congressional Inquiry, follow-up on the original dubious claims of the Attorney General, and revisit his 6 Feb 2006 testimony. Senator Feingold at a minimum deserves a clear answer:

  • What is the Attorney General's reason for not reporting the illegal NSA activity to the Judiciary Committee as required;

  • Why is the Attorney General not enforcing the Executive Orders that require all procedures, guidelines, and policies to comply with the law?

    What dates did the Attorney General meet with the national security advisor to review the guidelines, law, and other requirements which the Attorney General knew were being ignored?

    The Attorney General shall comply with the Executive Orders that require full compliance with the law. The court finds that the Attorney General and others have violated the law; and that the legal advice related to those violates were reckless, and grounds for review by the Texas State Bar.

    The Attorney General shall cooperate with the DOJ OPR. All standards, papers, working notes, presentations, e-mail, private lap top computers, and other personal records are to be provided to the DoJ OPR. The Attorney General during the initial administrative investigating is not entitled to have an attorney present; rather, he is to fully cooperate with the ongoing administrative review.

    The Senior Executive Service and Office of Personnel Management shall also fully cooperate with the DoJ OPR during this review. They are to fully cooperate with all DoJ OPR requests related to meeting minutes, policy reviews, performance repots, and other memoranda. The court finds that the appraisals provided to Attorney General Gonzalez were made without regard to his legal duties; and that the current performance reports are wholly disconnected from his actual work performance. the Attorney General has substantially demonstrated reckless disregard for the law, and wholly ignored mandatory legal requirements on all federal officers.

    It is irrelevant when enforcing the law whether there is or is not a leadership problem. It is clear that this clerk in the oval office is reckless, a criminal, cannot be trusted to follow the law, and is very incompetent. He has no comprehension of discipline, training, oversight, audits, feedback, or anything remotely relating to minimum levels of supervisory skills. The court finds that he has recklessly violated the law, is wholly unfit for office, has defied his oath, and has substantially made a case for his removal from office.

    Addington's world view is invalid. The clerk in the oval office has finite Article II powers. Unlike what Addington proffered as non-sense in the Iran-Contra affair, the Vice President has recklessly ignored the law. We the People remain sovereign, and are fully capable of gathering additional evidence of Adddington's involvement in war crimes planning, and other illegal efforts he used to hide what the court finds is unlawful NSA activity. Addington is reckless, cannot be trusted with access to any power, and the DC Bar President needs to explain the reluctance of the DC Bar to review these matters.

    Until the American Bar Association provides some independent leadership and guidance to the DC Bar, the court finds that the criminals in the Department of Justice, including Keisler, Haas, and the other reckless DoJ Staff Attorneys who assent to violates of the law, there is no reason to believe that the ABA is competent as an independent, self-regulatory system. The court finds that the clear in the overall office is a criminal, and that the ABA has substantially done nothing to timely enforce the law, or see that personnel within the DOJ Staff are appropriately supervised, trained, or supported to ensure the law is followed. It is clear that there is a leadership, training, and supervisory problem within the American Bar Association. You are reckless. You defy the law. the court finds that members of your professional have willingly defied the law, and the ABA has recklessly failed to timely take action to ensure that your mandatory 5 USC 3331 obligations to report severe peer violations of the law were enforced. Nothing before us suggests that the American legal community can be trusted unless the court speaks. Even then, you cannot be trusted. You and your peers have brought discredit upon the United States, your profession, and have failed in your fiduciary duty to assert the rule of law and your oath of office to protect this Constitution.

    The court finds that the violations of the law were not unique to a specific individual, but part of an overall pattern of criminal conduct organized and fully supported by those who were unwilling to assert their oaths of office. You have disgraced America, brought discredit upon the legal profession, and absurdly asked the world to embrace a model of governance which is criminal, defective, wholly incompetent, and a failure. How absurd.

    it is not appropriate for the DOJ Staff to continue feigning importance. You are criminals and you are unworthy o being treated with any seriousness. The law, even if you pretend otherwise, is your highest obligation: The Constitution. You have failed in that simple test. No amount of training, supervision, or leadership can alter your world view. Arguably, you deserve a fate no better than what the court may lawfully impose for those who are complicit in illegal violations of the Constitution and laws of war: Death by lawful direction of the court. There is no pardon for those who are no longer with us. You have no defense.

    You have willfully assented to illegal orders, unlawful war crimes, illegal violations of our Constitution, and have done nothing to assert your oath. You demonstrate to the world that the law means nothing; you have proven that you mean nothing, and are of no value to anyone. A lawful death sentence by the court is fitting.

    No roadblocks are recognizable. All efforts to further delay the DOJ OPR from reviewing this material should be documented. The court finds that the conduct is illegal; and this conduct should be immediately investigated. Any further attempts to thwart this investigation shall be contrasted with the adverse inference that the obstruction is related to hiding evidence of war crimes and other criminal activity. The evidence related to DOJ OPR's inability to do its job is probative for the international war crimes tribunal.

    The clerk in the oval office no longer has any foundation to stand. He is a known criminal, and anyone who follows his orders is complicity with illegal activity. Even if you are not aware of what he has done, any association with the criminal in the oval office shall be construed to be your tacit admission that you are freely choosing to associate yourself with, work for, and fully support the ongoing illegal war crimes. Your continued association is admissible to the international war crimes tribunal. The clerk in the oval office has the burden to prove why any claim he makes is to be believed; or should be recognized. The court finds that he is a criminal, and that his orders are not lawful; and that his power is at its lowest ebb.

    You are encouraged to seek, demand, and otherwise compel the clerk in the oval office to put all orders, direction, statements, and counsel in writing. Until you receive those written orders and comments from the clerk in the oval office, you are at risk for also being indicted for war crimes. The evidence you collect should be provided to the DoJ OPR, Congress, and the International War Crimes Tribunal.

    All subpoenas which Keisler has asked the District Court to strike down remain in full force. The court finds that the states have the legal authority to review activity that is not lawfully classified; and that any effort by anyone to thwart lawful inquiry into illegal activity is obstruction. The court finds that the clerk in the oval office is a criminal, and all directions he has provide to the DOJ Staff to dissuade State Inquiry shall be admitted as part of the record. The information will be provided to the Grand Jury, international war crimes tribunal, and interested members of the public and Congress.

    All contracts related to the illegal activity are not enforceable. Any agreements, assurances, or promises of immunity are not lawful. All telecom personnel, contracting officials, and members of the Federal government who have relied on these assurances have done so in reckless disregard for the law. You knew, or should have known, that these contracts were not enforceable. Arguably, you are reckless in committing your firm to a course of conduct that was illegal. You have shown you are reckless, and have failed in your fiduciary duty to your board of directors and stockholders. Your duty is to set the example, ensure the laws are followed, and that your firm does not support war criminals in DoJ or the oval office. You freely chose to ignore your corporate governance obligations and this likely will result in your loss of insurance protection under the DLO covenants.

    There was no legal foundation to rely on these illegal orders. Those who have spent money on the illegal things have also committed severe violations of your professional standards, oath of office, and freely chosen professional standards. Your job is to cooperate with the expanding inquiry and investigation.

    The court finds that the criminal in the oval office has directed many people to violate the law. The court finds that you freely chose to cooperate, refused to exercise your judgment, and despite your training on the laws, you freely chose to ignore your legal duties to the Constitution. You cannot be trusted. Ever.

    There is no reason any other citizen in any nation should respect Americans. Americans have demonstrated incompetence around the globe. You have paraded your flag and Constitution as an excuse to intrude; only to recklessly execute flawed policies, illegal orders, and reckless plans. You embarrass yourselves. You are so foolish that you do not comprehend the scope of your incompetence. You fail to recognize when you have a leadership problem, are in need of closer supervision, need special guidance, and that you require close monitoring.

    It remains a non-debatable point that Americans have failed to demonstrate self-governance. The court finds that the Constitution is that guiding document. Where there is uncertainty, the answer is not to turn to the clerk in the oval office. He is a criminal. Rather, the answer is to find the answer in the law. You chose to rely on a buffoon, an incompetent idiot, and a man who fails to demonstrate any leadership. He cannot lead, he cannot win wars, he cannot organize, he cannot train, he cannot effectively govern, and he cannot provide wise counsel.

    the clerk in the oval office is a recklessly criminal. Americans around the globe working for the NSA have blindly assented to his illegal orders. Nations around the globe may lawfully seize American assets, property, and other things of interest so that this may be provided as evidence, protected, and otherwise made available for the international war crimes tribunal.

    Americans may not claim sovereignty. You have shown no leadership, have set no example, and you have shown nothing that warrants confidence that you can effecitv4ely organize, manage, or resource those who are in a position to find facts. The DoJ OPR requires fully support from the entire Federal Bureaucracy: To make available to the expansive inquiry that needs to occur around the globe.

    Citizens of the world have one objective: To improve their lives. An improvement would mean the lawful capture, detention, and presentment of anyone who is an alleged war criminal, and lawfully present them to the international war crimes tribunal for prosecution. The court finds that the American civilians around the globe have illegally cooperated with violations of the law. It is fitting that the Americans who have chosen to violate the law, and cooperate with the war criminal in the oval office should freely present themselves for examination. however, under the laws of war, which this war criminal prefers to violate, it is lawful for the world to lawfully reciprocate. This war criminal in the White House has said it is permissible to render anyone; in that sprit, he has lawfully exposed all Americans who have freely cooperated with his war criminal activity to be similarly rendered to the international war crimes tribunal.

    It is your choice whether you choose to cooperate with the law and DOJ OPR; or whether you choose to illegally resist. The war crimes tribunal is international in scope, scale, and jurisdiction. You may not hide in any land; nor may any Presidential Pardon afford you any protection. It remains to be seen whether you freely choose to accept the jurisdiction of the court; or whether you must be compelled with the actual threat of force to assent to the rule of law.

    Hezbollah and Hamas stand ready. They have taken action. Those who choose to defy the law may or may not be given the respect they are entitled. However, you are only promised one thing: The rule of law shall prevail. You have no choice. It is time to cooperate with the DOJ OPR. It is time to examine the evidence related to the illegal activity, and find who has freely chosen to defy the laws of war. Cooperate freely, or you shall be compelled through actual, lawful force to appear before the war crimes tribunal.

    The court finds the war criminal in the oval office is unfit to be trusted to follow the law, and requires more reminders of his obligations. Perhaps the clerk might spend a moment reviewing his demands of other nations and people, and dare to meet that same standard. The clerk is unfit to lead. It is time the Congress hear your voice: We need to review immediately the full evidence of this illegal activity; and have an open discussion of what is to be done to ensure this does not happen again. The court finds the illegal activity is widespread. Congress must choose whether it wants to do its job, of watch from the sidelines while other players, slightly more interested in the rule of law, lawfully take that power and dare to find the truth. Congress has run out of time and excuses. The court finds there are criminals. The issue is whether the Congress is willing to see them in the mirror, or pretend otherwise.

    They wished this.