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Gold9472
03-17-2006, 11:23 PM
White House lawyers argued for warrantless searches after 9/11

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/White_House_lawyers_argued_for_warrantless_0317.ht ml

Published: Friday March 17, 2006

According to a news magazine, White House lawyers argued for the right to conduct warrantless searches of terrorism suspects on U.S. soil after the 9/11 attacks based on the "same legal authority" as President Bush's controversial wiretapping program, RAW STORY has learned.

The article is scheduled to appear on the U.S. News and World Report Website (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/home.htm) sometime on Saturday with the magazine hitting the newsstands on Monday.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann read from a U.S. News press release during his Countdown television show (video link (http://www.canofun.com/cof/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=17810) via Daily Kos diary (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/3/17/204235/876)) and the following is a RAW STORY transcript:

Soon after the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, lawyers for the White House and the Justice Department argued that the same legal authority that allowed warrantless electronic surveillance inside the United States could also be used to justify physical searches of terror suspects' homes and businesses without court approval.

According to two current and former government officials, the Bush Administration lawyers presented the arguments to senior FBI officials who expressed strong reservations about the proposal.

It could not be determined whether any warrantless physical searches had been carried out under the legal authority cited by the Administration, but at least one defense attorney representing a terrorism suspect has alleged that his law office and home may have been searched without a court warrant.