[Clips] Clinton Claimed Authority to Order No-Warrant Searches

[R. A. Hettinga]

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 <http://www.nationalreview.com/script/printpage.p?ref=/york/york200512200946.asp>

 The National Review
 Byron York

 December 20, 2005, 9:46 a.m.
 Clinton Claimed Authority to Order No-Warrant Searches
 Does anyone remember that?


 In a little-remembered debate from 1994, the Clinton administration argued
 that the president has "inherent authority" to order physical searches -
 including break-ins at the homes of U.S. citizens - for foreign
 intelligence purposes without any warrant or permission from any outside
 body. Even after the administration ultimately agreed with Congress's
 decision to place the authority to pre-approve such searches in the Foreign
 Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court, President Clinton still
 maintained that he had sufficient authority to order such searches on his
 own.

 "The Department of Justice believes, and the case law supports, that the
 president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless physical searches
 for foreign intelligence purposes," Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick
 testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on July 14, 1994, "and
 that the President may, as has been done, delegate this authority to the
 Attorney General."

 "It is important to understand," Gorelick continued, "that the rules and
 methodology for criminal searches are inconsistent with the collection of
 foreign intelligence and would unduly frustrate the president in carrying
 out his foreign intelligence responsibilities."

 Executive Order 12333, signed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, provides for such
 warrantless searches directed against "a foreign power or an agent of a
 foreign power."

 Reporting the day after Gorelick's testimony, the Washington Post's
 headline - on page A-19 - read, "Administration Backing No-Warrant Spy
 Searches." The story began, "The Clinton administration, in a
 little-noticed facet of the debate on intelligence reforms, is seeking
 congressional authorization for U.S. spies to continue conducting
 clandestine searches at foreign embassies in Washington and other cities
 without a federal court order. The administration's quiet lobbying effort
 is aimed at modifying draft legislation that would require U.S.
 counterintelligence officials to get a court order before secretly snooping
 inside the homes or workplaces of suspected foreign agents or foreign
 powers."

 In her testimony, Gorelick made clear that the president believed he had
 the power to order warrantless searches for the purpose of gathering
 intelligence, even if there was no reason to believe that the search might
 uncover evidence of a crime. "Intelligence is often long range, its exact
 targets are more difficult to identify, and its focus is less precise,"
 Gorelick said. "Information gathering for policy making and prevention,
 rather than prosecution, are its primary focus."

 The debate over warrantless searches came up after the case of CIA spy
 Aldrich Ames. Authorities had searched Ames's house without a warrant, and
 the Justice Department feared that Ames's lawyers would challenge the
 search in court. Meanwhile, Congress began discussing a measure under which
 the authorization for break-ins would be handled like the authorization for
 wiretaps, that is, by the FISA court. In her testimony, Gorelick signaled
 that the administration would go along a congressional decision to place
 such searches under the court - if, as she testified, it "does not restrict
 the president's ability to collect foreign intelligence necessary for the
 national security." In the end, Congress placed the searches under the FISA
 court, but the Clinton administration did not back down from its contention
 that the president had the authority to act when necessary.

  - Byron York, NR's White House correspondent, is the author of The Vast
 Left Wing Conspiracy: The Untold Story of How Democratic Operatives,
 Eccentric Billionaires, Liberal Activists, and Assorted Celebrities Tried
 to Bring Down a President - and Why They'll Try Even Harder Next Time.

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 R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
 The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
 "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
 [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
 experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'