You can trust us because we are, well, us

Gates, a former CIA director who served as defense secretary under both Obama and former president George W. Bush, said the rules followed by the Obama administration "are quite stringent and are not being abused."

"But who is to say about a future president?" he said in an interview with CNN's State of the Union.

AFP

This is the Great Progressive Smash-up: If bad guys did this it would be bad, but we are good guys so when we do it it's good.

Or, to put it another way, the King can do no wrong.

(And by the way, another secret court? Oh, there's a fine idea.)