Orin Hatch -- intellectually dishonest or just plain ignorant?

Senator Orin Hatch questioned the Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the program of eavesdropping on American citizens when they are in the United States. General Gonzales says it’s okay, as long as one party is overseas, and the NSA thinks that one party is a terrorist or an affiliate.

Senator Hatch’s questions were leading and generally took the form of, “Isn’t it true that such-and-such case supports the view that you have expressed regarding the eavesdropping program?”

One of the cases that Sen. Hatch inserted into that template was United States v United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972). You can read what I had to say about it here. Justice Powell wrote the unanimous opinion for the court. Here’s what he said:

These Fourth Amendment freedoms cannot properly be guaranteed if domestic security surveillances may be conducted solely within the discretion of the Executive Branch.

Go back to the law books, Senator Hatch.

“… and tell ’em Big Mitch sent ya!”