And the line forms behind me.
Helen Thomas: Does the president think he should obey the law? He put his hand on the Bible twice to uphold the Constitution. Wiretapping is not legal under the circumstances without a warrant.
Scott McClellan: Well, I guess you didn't pay attention to the attorney general's hearing earlier today, because he walked through very clearly the rationale behind this program.
HT: There is no rationale --
SM: And Helen, I think you have to ask --
HT: -- (inaudible) -- the law.
SM: I think you have ask are we -- well, he's not -- are we a nation at war.
HT: That's not the question.
SM: No, that is the issue here.
HT: The question is, the point is, there are means for him to go to -- get a warrant to spy on people.
SM:: Enemy surveillance is critical to waging and winning war. It's one of the traditional tools of war.
HT: But he says he doesn't have running room --
SM: The attorney general outlined very clearly today how previous administrations have used the same authority --
HT: That doesn't make it legal.
SM: -- and cited the same -- and cited the very same authority.
HT: (Inaudible) -- they broke the law, that's too bad.
SM: And we're going to continue doing everything we can --
HT: You know what happened to Nixon when he broke the law.
SM: -- within our power to protect the American people.
This is a very different circumstance, and you know that.
HT: No, I don't.
