Bush Has a Good Idea

Updated below:

This is interesting.

Associated Press
Aug. 3, 2007 09:30 AM

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Friday that Congress must stay in session until it approves legislation modernizing a U.S. law governing eavesdropping on foreigners.

"So far the Democrats in Congress have not drafted a bill I can sign," Bush said at FBI headquarters, where he was meeting with counter terror and homeland security officials. "We've worked hard and in good faith with the Democrats to find a solution, but we are not going to put our national security at risk. Time is short."

The president, who has the power under the Constitution to keep Congress in session, said lawmakers cannot leave for their August recess this weekend as planned unless they "pass a bill that will give our intelligence community the tools they need to protect the United States."

Under Article II. Section 3 he has the Constitutional authority to do so:

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States.

The question is why was this urgent need to modify FISA only brought up at the end of the session? There, as always with this bunch, has to be some political reason. Is the White House attempting to preempt taking any responsibility for the Minnesota bridge collapse or is just a screen to get Abu Gonzales some breathing room. Could be that they are trying to amend the FISA rules so that they can claim they were legally spying on Americans all this time when the truth actually comes out. Gotta be something other that what it appears to be.

Another question is why would Bush take away his opportunity to make recess appointments and why would he make the GOP members of Congress miss the August recess and the opportunity to do some serious fund raising? The Dems are way ahead in raising money and the GOP needs the opportunity to try and close the gap.

If Bush wants to keep the Congress in session through August then that will just give them more time to work on Articles of Impeachment for Abu and inherent contempt for Miers and Rove.

Seems like a good idea to me.

Update: About the time I posted this seems the actual reason for this sudden rush to amend FISA popped up.

According to the Post, the reason for the administration’s feverish effort to get legislation to expand its surveillance powers under FISA is that earlier this year a FISA Court judge declared a key portion of the administration’s program illegal. The ruling of course was secret. And it seems that until now the White House had kept this information hidden form Congress.

So why are we finding this out now? Well, that’s another interesting story. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) went on Fox News Tuesday night and discussed the whole thing. But the very existence of the ruling is highly classified. So it seems he publicly revealed highly classified information.

Pretty much what could have been suspected.