Cheney-Specter bill ratifies the president's illegal spying

The deal reached between the White House and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) concerning the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program is a "compromise" only in the sense that it compromises our fundamental freedoms as Americans.

The Cheney-Specter bill (S. 2453) ratifies the president's illegal spying and uses the disclosure of this illegal activity as a springboard to authorize even broader spying on Americans.

This bill is worse than the Patriot Act. It gives the president vast new powers, including a blank check to spy on Americans without an individualized warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

If the Cheney-Specter bill passes, President Bush and future presidents will be able to wiretap without showing a court that an American is conspiring with al Qaeda or any foreign power - eliminating the mandatory judicial check required by federal law to protect constitutional rights.

Under the bill, warrantless wiretaps would not be limited to Americans "talking to al Qaeda," which current law already governs, but would sweep in innocent Americans who have done nothing wrong.

The bill eliminates the statutory requirement that the government get a warrant from a court to search Americans' homes or businesses in times of war.