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March 01, 2006
Senate Judiciary Committee met on NSA spying: Grumbling ensued
David Welna and Steve Inskeep discussed the political grumblings as Congress examines the NSA spying program.
This issue was before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday. Congress is trying to get a better grasp on the nature and reach of the program while also trying to define the relevant legal questions as no one is denying the president circumvented the courts to put the program in place.
Highlights:
-Republican chairs of oversight committees are reluctant to hold public hearings on the president's authority because they might raise sticky questions about their own commitment to finding terrorists
-After former Attorney General John Ashcroft had gall bladder surgery in March 2004, he met with Deputy Attorney General Comey at the hospital because the domestic spying program had to be suspended due to judicial inquiries at the time. Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter said he wanted to bring both Ashcroft and Comey in front of the committee.
- Former CIA Director James Woolsey testified that the president did have the "war-time" authority to circumvent a federal statute that says a warrant is necessary before the government can electronically spy on US citizens.
-Perturbed by their own apparent irrelevance in this matter, some legislators are talking about introducing congressional oversight to the spying program.
NPR also has a page devoted to the NSA spying program issue
Posted by Nicole Duarte at March 1, 2006 08:02 AM
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