Bush violated the Constitution, an American Bar Association task force says

Group decries Bush's law interpretations - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON -
President Bush's penchant for writing exceptions to laws he has just signed violates the Constitution, an American Bar Association task force says in a report highly critical of the practice.

The ABA group, which includes a one-time

FBI
director and former federal appeals court judge, said the president has
overstepped his authority in attaching challenges to hundreds of new
laws.

The attachments, known as bill-signing statements, say Bush reserves
a right to revise, interpret or disregard measures on national security
and constitutional grounds.

"This report raises serious concerns crucial to the survival of our
democracy," said the ABA's president, Michael Greco. "If left
unchecked, the president's practice does grave harm to the separation
of powers doctrine, and the system of checks and balances that have
sustained our democracy for more than two centuries."

Some congressional leaders had questioned the practice. The task
force's recommendations, being released Monday in Washington, will be
presented to the 410,000-member group next month at its annual meeting
in Hawaii.