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http://snipurl.com/16qrb Bush claims new powers to open mail NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 01/04/2007 WASHINGTON President George W. Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the New York 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 current law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it. Bush made the move in the winter congressional recess and a year after his secret domestic electronic eavesdropping program was first revealed. It caught Capitol Hill by surprise. "Despite the president's statement that he may be able to circumvent a basic privacy protection, the new postal law continues to prohibit the government from snooping into people's mail without a warrant," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the incoming House Government Reform Committee chairman, a co-sponsor of the postal bill. Most of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act deals with mundane reform measures. But it also explicitly reinforces protections of first-class mail from searches without a court's approval. Yet in his statement Bush said he would "construe" an exception, "which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection in a manner consistent with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances." Bush cited the need to "protect human life and safety against hazardous materials and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection." _____________________________ Note: This message comes from the peace-justice-news e-mail mailing list of articles and commentaries about peace and social justice issues, activism, etc. If you do not regularly receive mailings from this list or have received this message as a forward from someone else and would like to be added to the list, send a blank e-mail with the subject "subscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or you can visit: http://lists.enabled.com/mailman/listinfo/peace-justice-news Go to that same web address to view the list's archives or to unsubscribe. E-mail accounts that become full, inactive or out of order for more than a few days will become disabled or deleted from this list. FAIR USE NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the information in this e-mail is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. I am making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of copyrighted material as provided for in the US Copyright Law.
