I don’t want to deluge TLF readers with repetitious nitpicking of Republican talking points, but this, from later in the same Boehner article, is really amazing:
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was written and passed during the Cold War era, and in August Congress updated it to reflect the sophisticated and adaptive nature of the terrorist threat. We worked in a bipartisan manner to close a gaping loophole, one that had prohibited our intelligence officials to monitor all foreign communications of terrorists overseas.
Let me repeat that for emphasis: the highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives is claiming that prior to August of 2007, the law prohibited the interception of “all foreign communications” of terrorists. (Let’s assume he meant without getting a FISA warrant) I’ve read that several times, and I can’t think of any way to interpret this that’s not completely false. If a communication is entirely outside of the United States and no Americans are parties to the call, FISA does not and never has placed any restrictions on intercepting it. FISA has also never governed the interception of wireless communications.
Once again, this is either a lie or a demonstration of extraordinary cluelessness. Either way, it ought to be embarrassing to the Congressman to have written it, and to Town Hall to have printed it.
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