FCNL Rights and Liberties Weekly

Volume 4, No. 3

January 23, 2006

Presidential Power: Presidents from both political parties have issued statements at the time they signed legislation. “Signing statements” guide policy implementation and signal administrative intentions. President Bush has used signing statements to reserve power for the executive. For example, after signing the military funding bill containing the McCain anti-torture measure, the president issued a signing statement that as president he "shall construe [the statute], relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief," thus attempting to give himself the latitude to ignore the law. Read more about the evolution of signing statements from FindLaw:

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20060113.html

Also, see “The Legal Significance of Presidential Signing Statements,” prepared by Assistant Attorney General Walter Dellinger, November 3, 1993:

http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/signing.htm

Congressional Oversight: Rep. Waxman (CA), ranking member of the House Committee on Government Reform, has issued two new reports documenting congressional abdication of oversight of the executive branch. The reports look at oversight of both the Clinton and Bush II administrations, and can be found here:

http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/story.asp?ID=990

Administration Defense of Surveillance: The Department of Justice sent a 42-page legal defense of warrantless domestic intelligence surveillance by the National Security Agency to Congress last week. The paper argues that the president’s authority to wiretap without warrants is inherent in both his constitutional powers and Congress’s September 18, 2001, authorization for the use of military force. Read the paper here:

http://www.fas.org/irp/nsa/doj011906.pdf

Intelligence Activities and Congress: The Congressional Research Service concludes that the limited disclosure of NSA domestic surveillance to Congress appears “to be inconsistent with the law, which requires that the ‘congressional intelligence committees be kept fully and currently informed of all intelligence activities.’ other than those involving covert actions.” Read the memorandum here:

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/m011806

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FCNL Native American Program note: The dearth of Indian voices in the mainstream media and popular culture affects public perceptions which in turn affect public policies. The absence of U.S. media coverage about Native American communities means that Indian Country today is a mystery to most people. While there are rampant stereotypes, realities and cultural strengths remain hidden. We invite you to attend "Who Wants to Hear Our Story?: Communications and Contemporary Native Americans - A Media Symposium," March 2-3, 2006, in Washington, DC, to discuss ways to improve coverage and address misinformation in the media. More information is on the FCNL web site at:

http://www.fcnl.org/nativeam/media_symp.htm

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FCNL’s Rights and Liberties Weekly is intended as a supplement to other FCNL Civil Liberties and Human Rights Program materials and does not reflect FCNL's complete policy position on any issue, nor does it include all pertinent facts on any topic. For more information, please contact:

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