Domestic spying by authority of Bush administration

[BigV]

This subject has been touched on in other threads, but deserves a thread of it's own.

I found this news item typical of this administration's doublespeak behavior. The story is this: The Justice Department has been served with a request under the auspices of the Freedom Of Information Act to release several documents about the syping activity. The judgement was that a private party would suffer irreparable damage if the request was delayed, so an expedited request was made.

The Justice Department is dragging their feet. Here's their current postition:

Routine FOIA requests are to be handled within 20 days while expedited requests have no set time limit under the law, prompting the Justice Department to take the position that the amount of time for expedited requests could be longer than that for the routine 20-day handling.

"Congress could not have intended to create the absurd situation" enabling the government to unilaterally exceed the standard 20-day period, Kennedy wrote.

Who talks like this in the real world? WTF?! Normal requests need to be answered in 20 days. Expedited requests do not have a time limit, therefore they can be *longer* than 20 days? Is it just me, or is the Justice Department standing the meaning of the word "expedited" on its head?

Here's the story.

[xoxoxoBruce]

They're lawyers.

[WabUfvot5]

They have the "if it isn't nailed down steal it" mentality covered. This is why there are so many onerous and absurd laws. If there isn't you get shit like this.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I have an Ex that would spend hours trying to think of ways around, under and through the rules. I'm sure there's a place for her in this administration.

[BigV]

A helpful explainer:

[Adkenar]

This does seem wrong; in the business world, this is the kind of behavior that either loses clients or gets you fired. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that nobody's in trouble for this though. Ironic that the DoJ is obstructing justice.