No longer suprised

Far be it from any of us to defend the rights of those with poor taste, but...well, this just sums it all up.

A Congressional oversight panel plans to ask the National Security Agency to start an investigation into new evidence that the agency illegally wiretapped a Muslim scholar in Northern Virginia and concealed the eavesdropping during a 2005 trial in which the scholar was convicted on terrorism charges...

Mr. Timimi’s lawyers maintain that the N.S.A., without acquiring court-approved warrants, used the eavesdropping operation approved by President Bush weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks to wiretap his communications, and that the interceptions might include evidence that would point to his innocence in what they regard as a free-speech case. They charge that the government has intentionally withheld that material despite repeated requests.

Apparently, what we have is evidence of bad taste:

During Mr. Timimi’s trial, prosecutors presented evidence that in a phone conversation... Mr. Timimi had celebrated the 2003 destruction of the space shuttle Columbia.

Um...what?

This was evidence used to support a conviction and a term of life-imprisonment? Does this mean we can convict Bush on the "No WMDs over here" joke?

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]