Clinton did it, too! ..... Ah, no he didn't

It never fails. Every time Bush gets caught with his pants down all the whiney right-wingnuts proclaim, 'Clinton did it, too". Well, when it comes to warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens, Clinton did NOT do it, too! The mouthpieces and the Bush-apologists (Drudge and Oxycotin Pig Boy) and collaborators of the Republican Party keep talking about 'foreign intelligence' as if the Democrats, and the few Republicans who have the integrity to stand up for liberty and the 4th Amendment, are complaining about spying on 'foreigners' and that's NOT what their argument is at all. Bush spied on American citizens without a warrant and spied on American citizens in some instances INSIDE the U.S. That is clearly a crime and one not committed by any president since Richard Nixon. Not Ford, not Carter, not Reagan, not Bush Sr., and not Bill Clinton. Richard Nixon and George W. Bush are the only two to blatantly break that law. And, the same thing that happened to Nixon needs to happen to the criminal who currently occupies the White House. Fact Check: Clinton/Carter Executive Orders Did Not Authorize Warrantless Searches of Americans The top of the Drudge Report claims "CLINTON EXECUTIVE ORDER: SECRET SEARCH ON AMERICANS WITHOUT COURT ORDER" It's not true. Here's the breakdown - What Drudge says: Clinton, February 9, 1995: "The Attorney General is authorized to approve physical searches, without a court order" What Clinton actually signed: Section 1. Pursuant to section 302(a)(1) [50 U.S.C. 1822(a)] of the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance] Act, the Attorney General is authorized to approve physical searches, without a court order, to acquire foreign intelligence information for periods of up to one year, if the Attorney General makes the certifications required by that section. That section requires the Attorney General to certify is the search will not involve "the premises, information, material, or property of a United States person." That means U.S. citizens or anyone inside of the United States. The entire controversy about Bush's program is that, for the first time ever, allows warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens and other people inside of the United States. Clinton's 1995 executive order did not authorize that. Drudge pulls the same trick with Carter. What Drudge says: Jimmy Carter Signed Executive Order on May 23, 1979: "Attorney General is authorized to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information without a court order." What Carter's executive order actually says: 1-101. Pursuant to Section 102(a)(1) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1802(a)), the Attorney General is authorized to approve electronic surveillance to acquire foreign intelligence information without a court order, but only if the Attorney General makes the certifications required by that Section. What the Attorney General has to certify under that section is that the surveillance will not contain "the contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party." So again, no U.S. persons are involved. Thanks, Think Progress And, in case you need more proof, here's Media Matters