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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Bush Administration's Broad New Wiretapping Powers

    President Bush may be a struggling lame duck, but Democrats can still be out-maneuvered if they think they'll be called soft on terrorism. As Congress was leaving town, both houses gave Mr. Bush the wire-tapping authority he wanted, despite opposition from the Democratic leadership.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    President Bush may be a struggling lame duck, but Democrats can still be out-maneuvered if they think they'll be called soft on terrorism. As Congress was leaving town, both houses gave Mr. Bush the wire-tapping authority he wanted, despite opposition from the Democratic leadership. The Bush White House denies it's a "broad expansion" of the President's powers, while House Speaker Pelosi calls it "unacceptable." Civil libertarians and other Senate Democrats, including Barack Obama, say the new majority buckled under intimidation and pressure, that they "might be branded as soft on terrorism." We look at the new law and the politics that got it passed.

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    President Bush, the Democrats and the Fear of Terror
    1. 1:33Lessons from Basra, Once Called an Iraqi Success Story
    2. 7:26Bush Administration's Broad New Wiretapping PowersYou’re reading this
    3. 41:08California Voting Machines Decertified, Susceptible to Hackers
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Vanessa Romo

      LA School Report

    • KCRW placeholder

      Charlie Savage

      New York Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Marc Rotenberg

      Electronic Privacy Information Center

    • KCRW placeholder

      Robert Turner

      University of Virginia Law School

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    President Bush, the Democrats and the Fear of Terror
    1. 1:33Lessons from Basra, Once Called an Iraqi Success Story
    2. 7:26Bush Administration's Broad New Wiretapping PowersYou’re reading this
    3. 41:08California Voting Machines Decertified, Susceptible to Hackers
    Back to To the Point