In the immediate aftermath of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, US President George W. Bush, along with members of the White House Legal Counsel, went to work on circumventing domestic laws and the Constitution on two programs. The bypassing of the Geneva Convention for those suspected or labeled "enemy combatants" and the NSA warrantless wiretapping of Americans. On September 14th 2001, the Senate voted unanimously, 420 to 1, to expand on more unlimited War Powers for the President. John Yoo, Deputy Chief of the Justice Department, and Timothy Flanagan, lawyer for the White House Counsel Office, began to draft legislation by passing the Constitution regarding the Presidents checked authority during times of war, while David Addington, Cheney's person lawyer, began drafting memos regarding the Presidents authority to label any suspected of terrorism as an "enemy combatant".
Meanwhile, leading Neoconservatives such as Douglas Feith, Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz began pressuring Bush to engage Iraq militarily, even if no intelligence was found linking them to the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington DC. The CIA were given full authority from Bush to begin the "rendition and torture" programs which were given no vetting from any independent agency. On November 13th 2001, John Yoo had sanctioned White House plans to give the Defense Department sole authority to decide which terrorists will be tried in Military Commissions. These dangerous memos and pieces of legislation could very well, one day, be met against us,, the American people.
The Bush White House War On The Constitution: How 9/11 Gave Unchecked Authority To Bush, CIA And The NSA