Why Judge Diggs’ NSA ruling will be reversed
If this court is upheld or other courts follow suit, it will leave us with a most unpleasant issue that Democrats and Republicans alike have sought to avoid.Here it is: If this program is unlawful, federal law expressly makes the ordering of surveillance under the program a federal felony. That would mean that the president could be guilty of no fewer than 30 felonies in office. Moreover, it is not only illegal for a president to order such surveillance, it is illegal for other government officials to carry out such an order.
Who, in Congress would have the cojones to call for the impeachment of the President at that point? And if they did, who would vote for it? And if the president was not impeached, and/or convicted, wouldn’t that pretty much be the end of, you know, our democratic form of government? After all, the Constitution would then, finally and irrevocably, be shown to be completely irrelevant.
After that, what future president would look at this incident and not conclude that s/he could violate the law with impunity?
