Top Verizon exec publicly supported wiretap programs

When allegations emerged that the telecom giants had been lending a voluntary hand to the administration in a wiretapping program that has since been ruled unconstitutional, the denials weren't far behind. But Raw Story has posted an article revealing that a vice president (and legal man) at Verizon has long-standing ties to the CIA and the Bush family. And he's a big fan of warrantless wiretapping. A few notable quotes:

"I believe that the critical legal powers are granted directly by the Constitution itself, not by Congressional enactments. When the Nation itself is under attack by a foreign enemy, the Constitution vests the broadest possible defense powers in the President...No foreign threat can arise that the Constitution does not empower the President to meet and defeat."

"While the PATRIOT Act was a major step forward and remedied FISA's most severe problems, I believe FISA remains too restrictive in a fundamental respect. It still requires that the government establish 'probable cause' that an individual is either 'a foreign power' or an 'agent of foreign power.'"

FISA's severe problems? The whole point was to prevent the president from abusing his office to spy on political opponents, right?