Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnewsh!wcs
From: wcs@cbnewsh.att.com (Bill Stewart 908-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: CNN
Message-ID: <1990Nov24.025032.24154@cbnewsh.att.com>
Date: 24 Nov 90 02:50:32 GMT
References: <1990Nov16.235831.25433@agate.berkeley.edu> <4948@rsiatl.UUCP> <1990Nov19.145537.27524@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
Organization: Here, beside the rising tide
Lines: 48

In article <1990Nov19.145537.27524@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>, gsh7w@astsun.astro.Virginia.EDU (Greg Hennessy) writes:
> In article <4948@rsiatl.UUCP> jgd@rsiatl.UUCP (John G. DeArmond) writes:
> #Defend themselves?  Considering that according to the papers, CNN 
> #originally stole these tapes from the government, and that the FBI's
> #retrieving them from an abandoned motel room (again, according to the
> #paper) was simply a matter of recovering stolen property, it appears to
> #me that the FBI is acting quite properly.
>.... hotel room was still rented ....
> Even assuming the tape was stolen, (which the only thing I heard was
> that the information may have been stolen, and the physical tape was
> CNN's) the FBI still should have obtained a search warrent.

I assume that "according to the papers" means "according to the FBI"?
As Greg points out, in the absence of a search warrant, the FBI is
violating the law and the Constitution, unless of course the theft
was by an individual FBI agent covering his own behind,
which would be official misconduct or something.
 
> Even worse was the Supreme Court now allowing prior restraint, an
> unprecedented restriction in the freedom of the press.
Especially since the US Government apparently made the tape illegally,
and was responsible for leaking it (apparently to the Panamanians).
Admittedly, a news service that wants to claim reporter-client privilege
really ought to respect lawyer-client privilege themselves, but it
may be that their presentation of the story did that; I didn't catch it.
 
> #The whole thing appears to revolve around the fact that Teddy-boy got
> #miffed that the US went into Panama without his permission and has been
> #trying to sabotage the whole thing since.
Teddy has every right to object: if you believe the Constitution,
the Congress is the one who's supposed to declare war, unless you
contend that the War Powers Act is an implicit declaration of war
authorizing the Commander-In-Chief to start small wars when he wants.

But there's a talk.politics.* for talking about most of this;
the *.eff relevance is the alleged illegal possession of INFORMATION
and the tactics used to suppress it.

As somebody's .signature line says, the Constitution isn't perfect,
but it's a lot better than what the Government is using today.
We've seen three or four good examples of that in this case alone.

			Bill
-- 
					Thanks; Bill
# Bill Stewart 908-949-0705 erebus.att.com!wcs AT&T Bell Labs 4M-312 Holmdel NJ
Government is like an elephant on drugs: It's very confused, makes lots of noise,
can't do anything well, stomps on anyone in its way, and it sure eats a lot.