Schieffer Appalled Congress Might Expand Authority to Eavesdrop --1/26/2006
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2. Woodruff: "Hamas, Which the U.S. Calls a Terrorist Organization"
3. ABC's Ross Impugns Scalia in Distorted Story on "Judicial Junket"
4. "Top Ten Surprising Facts About Osama Bin Laden"
Roberts referred to the Republican Senator as "she," which I believe -- if I've memorized the Senate make-up properly -- narrows it down to one of four woman: Senators Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins of Maine, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas or Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. My money is on Hutchison. [This item was posted Wednesday night on the MRC's blog, NewsBusters.org. To post your comments, go to: newsbusters.org ] From the January 25 CBS Evening News, picking up after John Roberts reported how some NSAers are concerned about being drawn into lawsuits:
Roberts: "NSA officials aren't likely to be called in the first round of hearings, but in a letter, the Attorney General was warned by the Judiciary Committee chair, he's in for a full day of grilling on February 6th. Among the questions: Why did the President bypass the federal court that covers wiretaps, and how does he justify not more fully informing Congress? The President insists he has informed Congress, but complains existing laws aren't nimble enough to cover the explosion of technology through which terrorists communicate. The growing response from Republicans in Congress: Tell us what you need, we'll write new laws. In fact, one Republican Senator told CBS News tonight, she might consider loosening the standards for approving the wiretap and allowing more officials at the Justice Department, not just the Attorney General, to authorize eavesdropping, so that it could begin just as soon as the NSA needed it, Bob."
[This item is slightly modified from a Wednesday night posting, by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth, on the NewsBusters blog. To share your take, go to: newsbusters.org ] During the opening teaser, while previewing a story on the Palestinian elections, Woodruff announced from Israel: "It's been an historic day in the Middle East. Palestinians voting for their future. The radical group Hamas gains strength and gets a warning from the Bush administration." Introducing a story on the elections, in which Hamas won a substantial number of seats in the parliament, Woodruff asked: "Would Palestinians vote to keep the long-ruling Fatah movement in power or would the militant challenger, Hamas, which the U.S. calls a terrorist organization, prevail?" After showing a soundbite of Israel's foreign minister relaying the Hamas goal of "demolishing" Israel, and after airing a soundbite of Jimmy Carter expressing hope that Hamas would change, Woodruff ended the piece referring to Hamas simply as a "group." Woodruff concluded: "With Hamas even as a minority part of the government, [aid from the U.S.] could dry up unless this group, which has fought violently with Israel for years, gives up its guns." This reluctance to label Hamas as a terrorist organization is reminiscent of former ABC anchor Peter Jennings' approach to dealing with stories about Israel and Hamas. For example, as recounted by the March 18, 2003 CyberAlert, on the March 17, 2003 World News Tonight, Jennings read this short item: "In Palestinian Gaza today an Israeli raid killed ten Palestinians, including a four-year-old girl, at a refugee camp. The Israelis say the camp is a stronghold of the Hamas group which they accuse of sponsoring terrorism." Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the the January 25 World News Tonight in which Woodruff discussed Hamas: Bob Woodruff, in opening teaser: "I'm Bob Woodruff in Jerusalem. It's been an historic day in the Middle East. Palestinians voting for their future. The radical group Hamas gains strength and gets a warning from the Bush administration." Woodruff, introducing the story: "Good evening from Jerusalem. In this region that has seen so much history, history was made again today. Nearly one million Palestinians have gone to the polls in the Palestinians' first election in 10 years. The stakes are very high not just for the Middle East, but for the U.S. as well. Would Palestinians vote to keep the long-ruling Fatah movement in power or would the militant challenger, Hamas, which the U.S. calls a terrorist organization, prevail?"
After detailing some events of the election day, Woodruff moved to discussing Hamas: "While Hamas may not have won, its candidates will have a major presence in the parliament and will certainly press for changes. Its Islamic influence could deeply effect this largely secular community. 'I am voting for Hamas because they are the Islamic movement,' this woman told us, 'and we are going to follow the Koran.' Although Hamas has downplayed its militant side during this campaign, there are serious questions about how it will deal with Israel. So far, it has refused to recognize it or get involved in negotiations. Israel's new foreign minister holds out little hope."
Woodruff, speaking to Jimmy Carter: "There are some who believe that Hamas will be pragmatic, though, once they have power-"
On Monday's Nightline, ABC ran a silly story by Brian Ross impugning the integrity of the two most conservative Supreme Court justices, for a "judicial junket" in Colorado where at a Federalist Society conference Antonin Scalia played tennis and the acceptance by Clarence Thomas of a NASCAR jacket. Over hidden-camera video of Scalia on a tennis court, Ross stressed how Scalia missed the swearing-in of Chief Justice Roberts and featured law professor Stephen Gillers, "a recognized scholar on legal ethics," as his expert, running seven soundbites from him (compared to just two from a Scalia-defender). But Ross failed to note how Gillers is a left-winger who in The Nation in 1999 fretted about the "nightmare" of more conservative Supreme Court justices. Ross, however, tagged the Federalist Society as "a conservative activist group" as he buried a brief mention of how the group "says this was no junket at all but a legal seminar, in which Justice Scalia taught a ten-hour course." Ross even tried to smear Scalia with a link to scandal: "Scalia also attended the scheduled cocktail receptions, one of which was sponsored in part by the same lobbying and law firm where convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff once worked."
FNC's Brit Hume, in his Tuesday "Grapevine" segment, reported: Indeed, in an article titled "The Other Y2K Crisis," in the July 26, 1999 issue of The Nation, Gillers began: "My Y2K nightmare is that Republicans will win the White House and keep control of Congress. The payoff for this trifecta, which Republicans have not won since 1952, will be broad lawmaking (and law-repealing) power and a good chance to name three Supreme Court Justices in the next presidential term." He concluded his article: "Options for progressives seem few. Do we back Bradley (Gore's only current rival) on the theory that if he beats Gore in several primaries, Gore will have to withdraw? Do we support Gore, as the inevitable nominee, while refusing to let Bush hide behind labels like 'compassionate conservative'? Do we concentrate on close Senate and House races, hoping that, whoever wins the White House, Democrats will at least regain Congress? Or do we do something else entirely? Given the accelerated campaign schedule, we don't have much time to act before the Y2K nightmare comes true." For the piece in full: www.thenation.com
In a March 3, 2004 New York Times op-ed he recommended that the Democratic nominee pick Bill Clinton as the VP: www.nytimes.com
NYU's bio page for him, with a picture: its.law.nyu.edu I write to express my deep disappointment and concern about a January 23rd report aired on ABC's Nightline. The report grossly misled viewers about a recent trip Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia took to teach a 10-hour course on the Constitution and separation of powers. Nightline suggested that Justice Scalia's trip was a "judicial junket," and even strained to manufacture a link with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. ABC chose to focus on the fact that Justice Scalia's commitment to teach, which he made nearly a year earlier on October 10, 2004, conflicted with the swearing-in of Chief Justice John Roberts. Nightline's report insinuated that Justice Scalia's absence at Chief Justice Roberts' swearing-in was nothing more than Justice Scalia taking the chance to play tennis at a Colorado hotel on the Federalist Society's tab. Rather than taking a recreational trip with hours of tennis and going fly-fishing, as ABC would have its viewers believe, Justice Scalia was honoring an agreement made nearly a year in advance with the Federalist Society to teach a serious scholarly program to more than 100 lawyers from 38 states that required considerable work and advance preparation. Prior to the course, Justice Scalia produced a 481-page course book that attendees were expected to review in advance. The course was approved by at least 30 state bars for most of the attending lawyers' continuing education requirements. Justice Scalia was there to share his knowledge and experience and received only reimbursement for travel and lodging. It was very appropriate and reasonable for the Justice to honor his longstanding commitment to teach. There was virtually no advance notice that the Chief Justice would be sworn in on September 29, and, were Justice Scalia to have cancelled a couple of days before the scheduled course, most attendees would have lost the money spent on plane tickets getting to and from the course. The Federalist Society would have also faced considerable costs for breaking its contract with the hotel where Justice Scalia taught the course. Nightline deliberately misrepresented the nature of the event despite the fact that the Federalist Society took pains to establish the facts with Nightline's senior producer, David Scott, as well as the investigative reporter who worked on the story, Rhonda Schwartz. The Federalist Society set forth the fact that Justice Scalia arrived at the hotel at 11 p.m. the night before the course and departed for home at 6:30 a.m. the morning after the course ended, thus spending no more days at the hotel than necessary to teach the course. It was made abundantly clear that the Justice taught for ten hours, and played less than two hours of some informal "pick-up" tennis.... END of Excerpt For a PDF image of the letter, as posted by the Federalist Society: www.fed-soc.org Human Events has posted an HTML text version. For that, as well as links to some Human Events articles about the ABC story: www.humaneventsonline.com ABC News was so proud of the hit job that they posted a complete transcript of the Nightline story, a very rare feature: abcnews.go.com Below is the January 23 Nightline story in full, followed by a note about what appeared on the January 24 GMA: Cynthia McFadden: "Good evening. I'm Cynthia McFadden. On Capitol Hill tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to support the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. And with the court in the spotlight, tonight we have an exclusive investigation. Unlike the Congress, now ensnared in the ballooning lobbying scandal, or even lower court judges, the Supreme Court does not have to abide by any specific ethics code. That's opened the justices to new criticisms about perks and power. ABC's chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross joins us live."
The January 24 Good Morning America, during the 7:30am half hour, carried the same taped story, but cut it off just before Ross got to Thomas and the rest of the piece. "ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: SCALIA CAUGHT ON TAPE," appeared throughout the story. Sitting next to Diane Sawyer, after GMA ended the story, Ross lectured: "The issue is not bribery or influence but the appearance of lack of justice, of fair-mindedness, for people who can't afford to fly a justice out for a fancy three-day trip, they wonder, 'do I get the same justice?'"
From the January 25 Late Show with David Letterman, the "Top Ten Surprising Facts About Osama Bin Laden." Late Show home page: www.cbs.com 10. Plans to release next threatening videotape in high-definition 9. In the seventies, had a gay fling with the blind sheikh 8. Secretly likes Kosher pickles 7. Middle name: Duane 6. Stole "Death to America" catchphrase from Fran Tarkenton 5. Got cave hooked up with Sirius so he can listen to Howard Stern 4. Knows all the words to the Black Eyed Peas song "My Humps" 3. After Colts loss to Steelers, declared jihad on Mike Vanderjagt 2. Has a bumper sticker that reads, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kerry" 1. The son-of-a-bitch is still alive
-- Brent Baker
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When John Roberts wrapped up his report Wednesday night, about President Bush's visit to the National Security Administration (NSA) in Maryland, by relaying how "one Republican Senator told CBS News tonight she might consider loosening the standards for approving the wiretap and allowing more officials at the Justice Department, not just the Attorney General, to authorize eavesdropping, so that it could begin just as soon as the NSA needed it," CBS Evening News anchor Bob Schieffer seemed astounded: "Now, just a second, John. Are you telling me there's a feeling amongst Republicans up in the Congress that they're going to give more people in the government the authority to eavesdrop without warrants? Is that what you're saying here?" Roberts confirmed how "that's what one Republican Senator is suggesting." Schieffer remained astonished: "Well, what do you think the mood is up there? Do you think anything like that could pass?" Roberts passed along how "it's certainty being considered by Republicans. They've got the majority in the Senate and in the House, and if they want it they'll probably get it." To which Schieffer shot back: "Well, we'll sure see about that." 
Bob "Peter Jennings" Woodruff? Reminiscent of how the late Peter Jennings distanced himself from labeling Hamas as "terrorist," on Wednesday's World News Tonight anchor Bob Woodruff similarly showed reluctance to label Hamas as a terrorist organization outright. Instead, he described Hamas a "militant" group "which the U.S. calls a terrorist organization." Woodruff also referred to Hamas once as a "radical group" and once simply as a "group." 
Ross acknowledged, after his taped story aired, that "it isn't just Justice Scalia. Justices at all ends of the political spectrum take plenty of these trips to lots of nice places, all paid for by somebody else." But Ross didn't go beyond Scalia and Thomas and the Tuesday Good Morning America version plastered on screen, over video of Scalia playing tennis, "ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: SCALIA CAUGHT ON TAPE." 
Brian Ross: "Cynthia, what some call fact-finding missions, others call junkets. Judges have their own name for them, they call them educational seminars held at fancy resorts, all expenses paid by somebody else. The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Bachelor Gulch, Colorado, is one of the country's top resorts. Famous for its beautiful setting, its fly fishing and its five-star amenities. That's where Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was playing tennis on the afternoon of September 29 last year [distant video of Scalia on tennis court]. But his absence back in Washington did not go unnoticed. 
Ross: "An examination of Supreme Court disclosure forms by ABC News found that five of the justices have accepted valuable private club memberships. And one has accepted very expensive personal gifts. NASCAR racing fan, Justice Clarence Thomas, has received tens of thousands of dollars in gifts in recent years, including an $800 leather jacket from NASCAR, as well as a $1,200 set of tires. And from one Texas conservative activist, a vacation trip by private jet and a rare Bible, valued at $19,000." 
