Bush in 2004: “a wiretap requires a court order”
Bush in 2004, before the existence of the NSA’s warrantless wiretap program was confirmed:
Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.
This was a lie. The word “lie” is a strong word. Many people use it when they mean “mistaken” or “incorrect.” Let me be clear: when I say that Bush lied here, I mean that he knew that what he was saying was not the truth, and in fact that the opposite was true.
