And if You Close Your Eyes, They Can't See You

Bush continues to defend his policy on illegal spying on American citizens by claiming it's not illegal and that it's necessary.

Congressional Research Service (CRS), a part of the Library of Congress responsible for doing Congress' research, did some research on Bush and his claims.

Their report concluded that the administration's justification "conflicts with existing law and hinges on weak legal arguments." According to the Washington Post, the report argues that Bush probably cannot claim the broad presidential powers he has relied upon as authority to order the secret monitoring of calls made by U.S. citizens since the fall of 2001. Congress expressly intended for the government to seek warrants from a special Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before engaging in such surveillance when it passed legislation creating the court in 1978.

The Post report continues, "Bush's assertion that Congress authorized such eavesdropping to detect and fight terrorists does not appear to be supported by the special resolution that Congress approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which focused on authorizing the president to use military force. It appears unlikely that a court would hold that Congress has expressly or impliedly authorized the NSA electronic surveillance operations here.