Basis of Domestic Surveillance Was ‘Flawed,’ Report Finds

Former President Bush’s infamous warrant-free domestic surveillance plan, instituted after 9/11 to monitor potentially suspicious communication between parties within and outside of the U.S., has deservedly gotten a bad rap—and it’s about to get worse, thanks to a congressionally mandated report released Friday.

CNN:

The report, though not critical of the program’s objectives, sharply criticizes the legal advice provided to the White House by the Justice Department.

Among other things, the report cites a Justice Department conclusion that “it was extraordinary and inappropriate that a single DOJ attorney, John Yoo, was relied upon to conduct the initial legal assessment” of the surveillance program.

“The lack of oversight and review of Yoo’s work ... contributed to a legal analysis of the [program] that at a minimum was factually flawed,” it says.

The report says Yoo largely circumvented both his boss, Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, and Attorney General John Ashcroft.

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Yoo, the man: Once again, former DOJ legal adviser John Yoo is at the center of a Bush-era controversy.