QUESTION: Attorney General Gonzales, if the Senate does not reauthorize this provision for the Patriot Act, does the president have the authority under Article 2 and the authorization of use of force to give the go-ahead for these procedures on his own?
GONZALES: What I will say is we continue to have hope that these provisions will be reauthorized.
To the extent that they’re not reauthorized, we will look at the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies throughout the government to see what authorities do exist. And we will do what we can do under existing authorities to continue to protect America.
What is interesting about Bush conducting surveillance without a warrant is that he could have easily received court approval. Therefore, we have to ask why Bush would choose to do surveillance illegally. I believe that the reason he did this is to set a precedent that expands presidential power and authority. He is working on freeing the presidency of constitutional restraints on power.