Specter to sue Bush

While Specter continues to pursue a bill that would effectively "kill pending litigation challenging the legality of the President's eavesdropping conduct" and cede to the administration "the right to eavesdrop on Americans with no judicial oversight," he's also readying a bill which would allow Congress to sue Bush in federal court over his use of signing statements.

"We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president's acts declared unconstitutional," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on the Senate floor.

Specter's announcement came the same day that an American Bar Association task force concluded that by attaching conditions to legislation, the president has sidestepped his constitutional duty to either sign a bill, veto it, or take no action.

...Specter's announcement intensifies his challenge of the administration's use of executive power on a number of policy matters. Of particular interest to him are two signing statements challenging the provisions of the USA Patriot Act renewal, which he wrote, and legislation banning the use of torture on detainees.

I'm really at a loss to understand why he would be concerned about the abuse of executive power as it regards signing statements, but seek to protect the administration from further investigation into other, similar abuses. Is he manic? Suffering from multiple personality disorder? Just an unprincipled douche? Whatever the explanation, I've got to go along with John Amato: "I'll believe it when I see it."

(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)