Integrity and Casuistry

The Washington Post reports something unusual in George W. Bush's Washington: adherence to principle. Judge Robertson resigned from the FISA court in protest, saying it has been "tainted" by the current scandal. He has respect for both law and the spirit of the law. He has integrity. But instead of symbolic protest resignations from those who were trying to uphold the law in spite of this administration's best efforts, America needs the not-so-symbolic resignations of the people that broke those laws. America needs accountability.

Casuistries can be comforting in times of abstract fear, even for smart people. However, when we get new reports everyday about mishandling of information that, say, Richard Posner in Wednesday's Washington Post, or Bill Kristol in Tuesday's, deny is possible, likely, believable, subject to oversight, subject to law, worth fearing, or even worth attention (...don't you know there's a war on?), can they believe what they are saying? Really? Finding someone's phone number in Osama's satphone (a scenario Kristol posits) wouldn't convince FISA to issue a surveillance warrant? Really? C'mon, can anyone really think that? That's a doozy. Or, as Posner asserts, "No secrets concerning matters that would interest the public can be kept for long"? The NSA surveillance order was signed by President Bush in 2002, and that secret lasted through a very partisan election. Doesn't that "interest the public"? Shouldn't it? That's some "sieve"...