Feingold: The President Does Not Have a Legal Leg To Stand On

Senator Feingold makes standing on principle and demanding accountability seem so effortless — why can’t more Dems follow his lead? Here’s Senator Feingold on the Conservative Republican Approved Propaganda (CRAP) channel, otherwise known as FauxNews:

WALLACE: "Senator, in a hearing this week, you said that the president’s wiretap program is, and I quote, "one of the greatest attempts to dismantle our system of government in history." And you called John Dean as a witness, who said that this is worse than Watergate. Senator, do you really believe there is any comparison?"

FEINGOLD: "Actually, I do think this is worse. Not in terms of personal misconduct. Our greatest priority in this country is fighting the terrorist elements that attacked us on 9/11. But when the president breaks the law and doesn’t admit that he’s broken the law, and then advances theories about being able to override the law on torture, and having a preemptive doctrine of war, what he’s trying to do is change the nature of our government."

WALLACE: "But wait, wait, wait. That’s not — but Senator, I mean the fact is, President Bush briefed the congressional leaders, both House and Senate, Republican and Democrat, also the leaders of the Intelligence Committee, Republican and Democrat, both House and Senate, more than a dozen times before and during this NSA wiretap program. Isn’t that a big difference?"

FEINGOLD: "Chris, Chris, where I come from here in Wisconsin, if you break the law and you go tell people you’re breaking the law, that doesn’t make it OK. If you’re breaking the law, you’re breaking the law. In this case, the president does not have a legal leg to stand on."

WALLACE: "Let me explore that Watergate comparison a little bit more. Has President Bush created an enemies list? Has he used the federal government to punish his political opponents? Has he authorized break-ins of his political enemies?"

FEINGOLD: "Well, again, Chris, this is not a criticism of the president as some sort of criminal law, day-to-day problem, like President Nixon had. This is really a much bigger deal. As George Will has said, this was the very reason for the revolution that we had in this country, is that we did not want a monarchical president…

So this is actually, even though in terms of the president’s personal conduct not as serious, much more dangerous to our system of government, to our republic, and frankly, Chris, it weakens us in the fight against terrorism, to have a president who’s thumbing his nose at the laws of this country."

Check out the video over at Crooks & Liars. Democrats, pay attention, this is how it’s done! Great job Senator Feingold.

Update: You can see the full interview here, courtesy of Veredictum.