King George Claims Power To Open Mail Without Warrants

His party may have lost Congress, but the imperial presidency continues-

President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned.

The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.

That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it...

..."In certain circumstances - such as with the proverbial 'ticking bomb' - the Constitution does not require warrants for reasonable searches," [White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore] said...

[Blueduck's note: It does? That's highly debatable, Ms. Lawrimore.]

...[Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies in Washington] said that Bush is "using the same legal reasoning to justify warrantless opening of domestic mail" as he did with warrantless eavesdropping.

And that scandal has never really been dealt with either by Congress (it's started to be dealt with in the courts). Will that change now? I don't plan to hold my breath, that's for sure.

But Democrats really, REALLY need to start taking these constitutional abuses seriously. As Salon's Tim Grieve says, "If that's how Bush treats legislation adopted by a Republican-controlled Congress, what can we expect from him when the Democrats' first bills begin to turn up on his desk?"

I saw Vice President Cheney swearing in new Senators today, asking them if they pledged to uphold and defend the Constitution. They all said 'yes', of course. They should've added 'You first, Dick.'