Obama lawyer says no position on Bush-era wiretaps

[struggle4progress]

Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:56am IST
By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) - ... The lawyer spoke at a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on a lawsuit in which 16 lawyers representing Guantanamo Bay detainees demanded the government release records of electronic surveillance they believe was conducted without a warrant concerning their clients' cases.

The suit, filed in 2007 by the Center for Constitutional Rights against the Bush administration Justice Department and the National Security Agency, said both agencies refused to release the records first requested by the rights group in January 2006.

Justice Department lawyer Thomas Bondy told the appeals court it should uphold a lower court's decision that ruled in favor of the government's position that it did not need to confirm or deny the existence of any records.

Under questioning, Bondy added the Obama administration took "no position on the merits" of the "terrorist surveillance program" under President George W. Bush that ignited controversy for allowing U.S. intelligence to spy on Americans' communications without a warrant in pursuit of terrorism suspects ...

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43055420091010

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

1. I wonder if this Court

will rule in favor of the Lawyers and uphold the Constitution?

It's a no-brainer that the prior administration did not have warrants to "listen" to conversations of American attorneys who happened to be talking with their 'terrorist' clients.

K&R