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Taylor said that Bush overstepped his authority when authorizing the program as it violated the Constitution.
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CHICAGO — A US judge on Thursday, August 17,
halted President George W. Bush's controversial domestic spying
program as "unconstitutional", dealing a blow to Bush's
attempts to expand sweeping presidential powers following the
September attacks.
Federal Judge Anna Diggs Taylor said that Bush
overstepped his authority when authorizing the program as it violated
the Constitution, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"It was never the intent of the
(Constitutional) framers to give the president such unfettered
control, particularly when his actions blatantly disregard the
parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights," Taylor
wrote in a 43-page opinion.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Bush secretly
authorized the super-secret domestic spying program by the National
Security Agency (NSA) to intercept communications without the court
approval required under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
(FISA).
He has defended the program, claiming it was
limited only to monitoring international phone and e-mail
communications linked to people with connections to Al-Qaeda.
But The New York Times later disclosed that
the NSA has "directly" tapped the country’s main
communications systems without court-approved warrants.
"There are no hereditary kings in America and
no powers not created by the Constitution," the US Judge said.
A lawsuit challenging the program was brought
before the Michigan court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
on behalf of a number of journalists, lawyers, scholars and rights
workers.
They argued that the program prevented them from
doing their work because people were afraid to speak with them on the
telephone or send e-mails that could be monitored.
The US judge ruled that they had faced
"irreparable injury" because the surveillance program
violated their rights to free speech and protection from unwarranted
searches.
"The public interest is clear, in the
manner," Taylor wrote. "It is the upholding of our
constitution."
The court ruling was immediately appealed by the
NSA and the injunction was temporarily stayed ahead of an appeals
court ruling.
Victory
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"Today's ruling is a landmark victory against the abuse of power that has become the hallmark of the Bush administration," said Romero.
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The court ruling has immediately drawn a warming
welcome from the Muslim minority and rights groups.
"The ruling of the judge is not only a victory
for the American Muslim community but a victory for the entire
American population," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations for Michigan, which joined the
ACLU as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit, also extolled
the ruling.
"Today's ruling is a landmark victory against
the abuse of power that has become the hallmark of the Bush
administration," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the
ACLU.
"Government spying on innocent Americans
without any kind of warrant and without Congressional approval runs
counter to the very foundations of our democracy."
But the Bush administration was quick to criticize
the ruling, defending the spying program.
The White House claimed that the program was
"firmly grounded in law and regularly reviewed to make sure steps
are taken to protect civil liberties."
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said he was
both surprised and disappointed by the ruling.
Blow
The ruling was seen a major blow to Bush's attempts
to expand presidential powers following the 9/11 attacks.
"It's pretty sweeping," said Robert
Bennett, a professor at Northwestern University's law school.
He noted that the ruling went beyond faulting the
Bush administration for violating Congressional rules on wiretapping.
"The Bush administration is losing pretty
regularly on assertions that it's overstepping its authority."
Thursday's ruling comes just weeks after the
Supreme Court ruled that the Bush administration overstepped its
authority in setting up military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees.
Democrats said the ruling highlighted Bush's skewed
priorities.
"Rather than griping about having to go to a
FISA court for legal clearance to wiretap potential terrorists, the
Bush Administration should fully inspect cargo put on passenger planes
and make sure that a nuclear bomb isn't sent on a container ship to a
major US port," said Representative Ed Markey, a senior member of
the House Homeland Security Committee.
Senator Ted Kennedy said Bush's cavalier decision
to make up his own rules undermined national security.
"By ignoring that law, the Administration took
a path filled with legal uncertainty, putting employees of the
National Security Agency at risk of criminal penalties and
jeopardizing prosecutions of terrorists who may be able to
successfully challenge the evidence against them," Kennedy said.
Bush's popularity was not given a boost even after
the foiling of an alleged plot to bomb planes flying from Britain to
the United States, according to a poll released Thursday.
The Pew Research Center poll found that 37 percent
of Americans approved of Bush's overall performance, virtually
unchanged from a July survey.
Fifty percent approved of Bush's handling of
terrorist threats, compared to 47 percent in June. The poll was
largely conducted after the alleged airline bombing plot was revealed
on August 10.
