Arlen Specter’s wiretapping bill may leave a lot to be desired, but the senator from Pennsylvania has the right idea when it comes to presidential signing statements. He’s bringing it on — with a bill to sue George W. Bush. “We will submit legislation to the United States Senate,” Specter said on the Senate floor, “which will…authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president’s acts declared unconstitutional.”
This on the same day, Monday, that an American Bar Association task force found Bush’s use of the signing statements — interpreting laws as he sees fit rather than as Congress plainly intends — “contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers.”
