We have a momentous anniversary today. As freedom loving Americans, this is a great reason to celebrate. On September 17th 1787, the U.S. Constitution was signed and on this day in the year 2007 Mr. Bush’s choice friend, Alberto Gonzales will step down as Attorney General.
Gonzales is one of the many Bushites deeply involved in shredding constitutional protections of our rights.
Abuse of the Fourth Amendment
Gonzales was responsible for the cover up of the abuses of the National Security Letters, administrative subpoenas whose power was extended by the Patriot Act. By issuing n NSL, any of the 56 FBI field supervisors can demand records on individuals from businesses, banks, telephone companies, libraries, and internet service providers without any court oversight. According to the March 2007 Inspector General’s report show’s that Gonzales knew of the chronic abuse of NSLs during the debate over reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, he lied to the Senate in April 2005 that the FBI had not committed "one verified case of civil liberties abuse" after 2001.Gonzales was also heavily involved in stonewalling congressional oversight in the illegal Warrantless wiretapping program conducted by the NSA.
The Eighth Amendment
Gonzales actively enabled the normalization of torture. As presidential counsel in 2002, he urged Mr. Bush to deny the protections of the Geneva Conventions to members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. He also stated that an act does not constitute torture unless it poses a threat of imminent death or organ failure, his approval made another step toward the path of state sanctioned torture, directly violating the eighth amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits the government from inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.
The Constitutional Right of Habeas Corpus
At a January 18, 2007, Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Gonzales made the claim that "There is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution," but that the Constitution only stipulates "a prohibition against taking it away" under certain circumstances. In other words, Gonzales claimed that the Constitution does not grant Americans the inherent right to challenge government detention in court. Gonzales's pretzel-twisting of the Constitution led Republican committee member Arlen Specter to rebuke Gonzales: "You may be treading on your interdiction and violating common sense."
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