Bush Grants Himself More Powers

Although nobody knew it when President Bush renewed the Patriot Act March 9, he had his fingers crossed.

Later, the White House issued a signing statement in which Bush stated he wasn't bound to tell Congress how the Patriot Act's powers were being used and that, despite the law's requirements, he could withhold the information if he decided that disclosure would "impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the executive, or the performance of the executive's constitutional duties."

This marks another instance where the President claims he doesn't have to obey the law of the land. The issue reached a peak recently when it was revelealed that Bush authorized wiretaps on emails and phone conversations without first getting a warrant. When confronted, Bush said he could ignore the warrant law while the country was in a state of war.

The signing statement ploy gained public recognition when Bush signed off on a law prohibiting torture of detainees in US custody, but then issued a statement saying torture was allowed if he believed it was necessary for national security.

The Constitution gives the legislative branch the power to write the laws and the executive branch the duty to "faithfully execute" them.

"The president's signing statements are not the law, and Congress should not allow them to be the last word," Leahy said. ''The president's constitutional duty is to faithfully execute the laws as written by Congress, not cherry-pick the laws he decides he wants to follow," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.