Wait a minute! (eavesdropping ? about letter from congress crittter)

[MelissaB]

Is Bud Cramer full of sh*t, or did I miss something? Here is a letter that I received for him today.

Dear XXXXXXX:

I have received your e-mail regarding domestic wiretapping by the National Security Agency (NSA).

As you know, on December 16th a New York Times article reported that in 2002, President Bush signed an executive order authorizing the NSA to eavesdrop on certain telephone conversations between US citizens and persons overseas. Typically, the government is required to obtain a warrant from a special court in order to conduct this type of eavesdropping. Shortly following the publication of this article, President Bush acknowledged that he had signed such an order in 2002 and that this program has been effect since that time.

As the ranking member of the HOuse Intelligence Subcommittee on Oversight, I am involved in Congressional oversight of this matter. I am encouraged that the Administration has recently begun sharing information regarding this program with members of the Intelligence Committee. I want you to know that I believe we must do everything possible to protect the civil liberties of American citizens during our prosecution of the War on Terror. Along with my colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee, I will continue giving this matter my full consideration, and will keep your concerns in mind as we continue to examine the Administration's policies.

I thank you for sharing your thoughts on this important subject. For updates on currents issues in Washing and North Alabama, please visit my website ant http://cramer.house.gov and sign up for my monthly E-Newsletter.

Sincerely,

Bud Cramer
Member of Congress

Bolding mine, and that's what I have a question about. Did Bush sign such an order and I missed this somehow?

edited title

[babylonsister]

1. I wonder if this is something he signed under cover of darkness

w/only a very few witnesses. Remember that letter Rockefeller wrote and stored in a safe? Maybe dimson did sign something that not many were privy to.:shrug:

[MelissaB]

2. Wouldn't we have heard about that if Cramer's talking about it

in a letter?

[shraby]

3. He can't sign an executive order that violates

the law and the constitution.

[MelissaB]

4. So this means Cramer lied?

[bee]

5. it appears to be true.

snip
Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.
snip

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1216-01.htm

adding:

Bush says he signed NSA wiretap order
Adds he OK'd program more than 30 times, will continue to do so

Saturday, December 17, 2005; Posted: 8:07 p.m. EST (01:07 GMT)

snip
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In acknowledging the message was true, President Bush took aim at the messenger Saturday, saying that a newspaper jeopardized national security by revealing that he authorized wiretaps on U.S. citizens after September 11.
snip

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/17/bush.nsa/