Reuters: Patriot Act blocked in US Senate
Reacting to Bush’s defense of the NSA program, Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said the president’s remarks were “breathtaking in how extreme they were.”
Feingold said it was “absurd” that Bush said he relied on his inherent power as president to authorize the wiretaps.
“If that’s true, he doesn’t need the Patriot Act because he can just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he’s President George Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for,” Feingold told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.