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Justice Department probes its own role in spying program
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-16 10:41
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the office routinely looks
into issues of this kind.
"They will not be making a determination on the lawfulness on the NSA
program, but rather will determine whether the department's lawyers complied
with their professional obligations in connection with examining this program,"
Roehrkasse said.
Sen. Joseph Biden, like Hinchey a member of the opposition
Democrats, urged the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday to open its own
investigation.
"Everyone is for listening in on terrorists' phone calls. But we don't know
who the NSA is listening to or the extent of the program," Biden said.
Democrats are seeking a wide-ranging examination of all domestic spying
programs as the committee prepared to discuss the matter Thursday in a closed
session. The Intelligence chairman, Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, has been
generally less critical of the spying program than many other senators.
"Al-Qaida knows that we eavesdrop and wiretap," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, top
Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It is the American people who are
surprised and deceived by the president's program of secret surveillance on them
without a judge's approval."
Bush's decision to authorize the largest U.S. spy agency to monitor people
inside the United States, without warrants, has generated a flurry of questions
about the program's legal justification.
The Bush administration says the NSA's activities were narrowly targeted to
intercept international calls and e-mails of Americans and others inside the
U.S. with suspected ties to the al-Qaida network.
One intelligence committee Republican, Sen. Mike DeWine, is considering
legislation that would authorize Bush's program by exempting it from the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act. That law set up a special court to approve
warrants for monitoring inside the United States for national security
investigations. DeWine also wants Congress to be briefed regularly.
California Rep. Jane Harman, top Democrat on the House Intelligence
Committee, said she opposes the proposal. Harman said the FISA law should be
changed to speed up warrant applications, a problem cited by the administration,
or the president's program should be canceled.
"To keep this critical foreign collection capability, Congress must put it on
a strong legal footing," Harman said.
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