Secret Court To Monitor U.S. Spy Program
The Bush administration has agreed to let a secret but independent panel of federal judges oversee the government's controversial domestic spying program, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will have final say in approving wiretaps placed on people with suspected terror links.
"Any electronic surveillance that was occurring as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program will now be conducted subject to the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court," Gonzales wrote in the two-page letter to Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
This was a highly controversial program in which Americans suspected of ties to terrorism could have their phone calls or email monitored without any oversight from a judge, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.
"The White House knew it would get its legal butt kicked either by Congress or the courts if it would have pursued the program the way it had been operating, so now at least the administration can say it is cooperating with Congress and within the purview of the law," says CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "It's a political solution to what was becoming a growing legal problem for President Bush."
The secret panel of judges, known as the FISA court, was established in the late 1970s to review requests for warrants to conduct surveillance inside the United States. The Bush administration had resisted giving the court final approval over the Terrorist Surveillance Program, even when communications involved someone inside the country.
A federal judge in Detroit last August declared the program unconstitutional, saying it violates the rights to free speech and privacy and the separation of powers. In October, a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based appeals court ruled that the administration could keep the program in place while it appeals the Detroit decision.
Additionally, the Justice Department's inspector general is investigating the agency's use of information gathered in the spying program. In testimony last fall in front of the Senate panel, FBI Director Robert Mueller said he was not allowed to discuss classified details that could show whether it has curbed terrorist activity in the United States.
"I am sure there are a lot of civil libertarians out there who are disappointed that the program, as it was operating, won't come under scrutiny by a Democratic Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court," adds Cohen, "because the program almost certainly would have been declared unconstitutional. What this move does it preempt that legal battle, at least for now."
Congressional intelligence committees have already been briefed on the court's orders, Gonzales said in his letter. It was sent to the committee the day before he is set to testify before the panel, which oversees the Justice Department.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will have final say in approving wiretaps placed on people with suspected terror links.
"Any electronic surveillance that was occurring as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program will now be conducted subject to the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court," Gonzales wrote in the two-page letter to Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
This was a highly controversial program in which Americans suspected of ties to terrorism could have their phone calls or email monitored without any oversight from a judge, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.
"The White House knew it would get its legal butt kicked either by Congress or the courts if it would have pursued the program the way it had been operating, so now at least the administration can say it is cooperating with Congress and within the purview of the law," says CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "It's a political solution to what was becoming a growing legal problem for President Bush."
The secret panel of judges, known as the FISA court, was established in the late 1970s to review requests for warrants to conduct surveillance inside the United States. The Bush administration had resisted giving the court final approval over the Terrorist Surveillance Program, even when communications involved someone inside the country.
A federal judge in Detroit last August declared the program unconstitutional, saying it violates the rights to free speech and privacy and the separation of powers. In October, a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based appeals court ruled that the administration could keep the program in place while it appeals the Detroit decision.
Additionally, the Justice Department's inspector general is investigating the agency's use of information gathered in the spying program. In testimony last fall in front of the Senate panel, FBI Director Robert Mueller said he was not allowed to discuss classified details that could show whether it has curbed terrorist activity in the United States.
"I am sure there are a lot of civil libertarians out there who are disappointed that the program, as it was operating, won't come under scrutiny by a Democratic Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court," adds Cohen, "because the program almost certainly would have been declared unconstitutional. What this move does it preempt that legal battle, at least for now."
Congressional intelligence committees have already been briefed on the court's orders, Gonzales said in his letter. It was sent to the committee the day before he is set to testify before the panel, which oversees the Justice Department.
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Well tht is just plain liberal stupidity.
Posted by lestb35 at 03:04 AM : Jan 18, 2007
Only for cowards. In my posting I suggested you pick sides, an American who wants to keep their freedom or coward. Looks like you've made your choice and I feel sorry for you.
P.S. Thanks to those who agreed with me. I was gone all night and just got back on.
Well tht is just plain liberal stupidity.
Posted by lestb35 at 03:04 AM : Jan 18, 2007"
Liberal stupidity ?
The Founding Fathers felt the same way.
"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
"The citizens of the United States of America have the right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and LIBERAL policy worthy of imitation." - George Washington
"No the terrorists have won when and if they can pull off attacks accross the US, inflicting martial law and destroying the economy."
Well, then it seems as though GW Bush must be one of those terrorists - because he's the one taking away our freedoms and he's the one who decided to invade a country and wasting $400 billion dollars.
You conservatives surprise me - if it was that Clinton idiot listening in on your conversations or reading your mail, you'd be in an uproar.
Instead, you allow Herr Bush to do anything he likes.
I'm not surprised though - conservatives would sell their own mothers if the price was right.
"Well tht is just plain liberal stupidity."
Ahh, another backwards thinking, inbred conservative comes out of the woods.
Welcome to Herr Bush's facist dictatorship.
Enjoy your stay.
Well tht is just plain liberal stupidity.
Posted by jimibear at 06:03 PM : Jan 17, 2007
No the terrorists have won when and if they can pull off attacks accross the US, inflicting martial law and destroying the economy.
David Letterman had a priceless segment tonight in which we see Bush being asked about the carnage in Iraq, and as the question is being asked, the "President" breaks into a huge grin. Actual footage of Bush.
The Inappropriate Grin.
Bush, the Inappropriate President.
"Answer me this question: "What was NICK BERG doing with his LIBERTY when the coward dog terrorist slit his throat and cut off his head?? And what will you be doing with your LIBERTY when it's your turn???"
hey stan7007,
Why don't you tell us about the liberty of Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, the 14 year old girl who was "allegedly" raped and then murdered along with her family, including her 5 year old sister by US soldiers - Barker, Cortez, Spielman, Howard and Green.
While the murder of Nick Berg was horrific and should not be forgotten, the fact is that he was an American Citizen who travelled to a war zone and travelled without protection.
Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi was a 14 year old girl who was in her home when those sob's entered her house, raped and then murdered her and her family.
Where's your condemnation of them?
1. Bush's delay was a matter of years. The Bush statement ignores the fact he was an outlaw long before he publicly admitted NSA spying about one year ago. The abuses began as early as 2001.
2. Bush's current statement of compliance cannot conceal past illegal behaviors. Implicit in his statement is that others have questioned whether Bush has violated the law. Bush, himself, made no direct answer to the charge, but has tried to justify his actions by "wartime powers".
Bush may have to answer in fuller detail for his multi-year defiance of the FISA court procedures, in apparent violation of the law.