Judge rules against Bush anti-terror powers

A US judge has struck down President George Bush’s authority to designate groups as terrorists, saying his post-September 11 executive order was unconstitutional and vague.

US District Judge Audrey Collins’ 45-page ruling yesterday was a reversal of her own tentative findings last July in which she indicated she would uphold wide powers asserted by Bush under an anti-terror financing law. She delayed her ruling then to allow more legal briefs to be filed.