AP calls government's record seizure a 'massive and unprecedented intrusion'

[merithyn]

Seems to me that if the judge - who is constitutionally the guy to make the call - approves the subpoenas, then the ire of the AP and the Congress ought to be directed towards him.  That's how checks and balances work.  Not that a congressman or senator would know much about that...

Senators are congressmen; I think you meant "representative" there.

Because I thought you were wrong - and I trust grumbler on this over you (especially on this topic) - I looked it up. Wiki has this to say on the subject:

United States [edit]In the United States, the term Congress refers jointly to both houses of that country's national bicameral legislature, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Members of the Senate are typically referred to as "Senators", whereas members of the House of Representatives are referred to as "Representatives". Whereas the term Member of Congress applies to members of both houses, the terms Congressman and Congresswoman usually refer only to members of the House of Representatives.

[merithyn]

No, ma'am. Because it's not. Just about every time he does something I agree with he either changes course (as in Libya) or his narcissism gets in the way. I'd be thrilled to find things I can totally agree with or support him on. With Clinton as much as I opposed him I at least had welfare reform and NAFTA. There's Seedy's cue to invoke race.

I'm not talking about Obama here, derspiess. I'm talking about the Republicans in the Senate. Read what Seedy posted. It says little about Obama and everything about the GOP.

That was a bit of a cheap shot. I occasionally listen to Beck on my morning commute but only when Dan Patrick and Mike & Mike are talking about NBA or golf. And it's purely for entertainment. Sometimes I laugh with him, like when heand his two guys are being ssmart assessment and mocking the left. Sometimes I laugh at him, like when he brings up yet another conspiracy theory involving the Muslim Brotherhood. And sometimes I have to change the station, like when he goes into preaching mode or gets all bipolar.

It's not a cheap shot if you, like Glenn Beck, can't even see the cracks in your own party. This, again, isn't about Obama, though somehow you've made everything about him. The reality is that the GOP has lost its collective mind, and you're happy to go along with it.

[derspiess]

So you really don't see how that's a damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't scenario? Seriously?

There are times that I have hope that you'll be able to break free of the Glenn Beck-chains that bind you, and then things like this come up.

I wonder if now Der is going to assign me to the Obama fan club.

Nopers. But your Hillarism does cloud your judgment from time to time.

[garbon]

So you really don't see how that's a damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't scenario? Seriously?

There are times that I have hope that you'll be able to break free of the Glenn Beck-chains that bind you, and then things like this come up.

I wonder if now Der is going to assign me to the Obama fan club.

Nopers. But your Hillarism does cloud your judgment from time to time.

About Obama or politics in general?

[CountDeMoney]

No, ma'am.

LOL, "ma'am".  First you go after her gender with "dear", not you're going after her age with "ma'am".  Such misogyny.  Tsk, tsk.

[derspiess]

About Obama or politics in general?

Anything related to St. Hillary.

[garbon]

About Obama or politics in general?

Anything related to St. Hillary.

Oh like this?

[Ed Anger]

Hott

[CountDeMoney]

I Schwinged.

Anybody got anything with Elizabeth Warren in dominatrix gear?

[Razgovory]

Some of you guys are so in the tank for the Big O it's pathetic.

Talk about fucking projection ! 

[The Minsky Moment]

Seems to me that if the judge - who is constitutionally the guy to make the call - approves the subpoenas, then the ire of the AP and the Congress ought to be directed towards him.  That's how checks and balances work. 

They are both responsible.  The Executive is responsible for acting within the law, even if it manages to draw a judge that will let it go further.

[The Minsky Moment]

Also - not clear from the article whether this was ever submitted for judicial authorization.  Most subpoenas don't require judicial approval.

[merithyn]

Also - not clear from the article whether this was ever submitted for judicial authorization.  Most subpoenas don't require judicial approval.

I thought a judge had to sign off on all of these kinds of things. Has Law & Order been lying to me?

[The Minsky Moment]

Also - not clear from the article whether this was ever submitted for judicial authorization.  Most subpoenas don't require judicial approval.

I thought a judge had to sign off on all of these kinds of things. Has Law & Order been lying to me?

No typically an attorney can issue a subpoena as an officer of the Court, or in a criminal case, a Grand Jury can issue subpoenas.  A court will get involved only if the target of the subpoena seeks a protective order.  The trick is that here the phone companies are the recipients of the subpoena, and the AP, who might have had an interest in limiting it, wasn't told until after the fact.

Not clear from the article whether a grand jury was convened here and I don't know enough about pre-indictment investigatory subpoenas to know whether a judge might have signed off on this, assuming no GJ.

[Barrister]

Also - not clear from the article whether this was ever submitted for judicial authorization.  Most subpoenas don't require judicial approval.

I thought a judge had to sign off on all of these kinds of things. Has Law & Order been lying to me?

"these kinds of things" covers a wide ground.

A subpoena would typically be signed by a Justice of the Peace.  So that is technically "judicial approval", but they are submitted in writing and never, in my experience, scrutinized.

A search warrant is scrutinized by a judge, but even then depending on the type of warrant and the circumstances can be applied by fax in writing.