Senate Judiciary Authorizes Subpoenas For Documents To Justify Warrantless Wiretapping Docs

The Senate Judiciary Committee authorized its chairman on Thursday to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department and the Executive Office of the President for documents authorizing the administration's warrantless surveillance program.

Three Republicans, including former Chairman Arlen Specter (Pa.), joined committee Democrats to approve the subpoenas, 13-3.

Thursday's vote is the latest development in an ongoing struggle by committee members to secure internal administration documents justifying the domestic surveillance program, which remained secret for five years. The subpoenas would also put additional pressure on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who defended the program during committee testimony last year.

"This stonewalling is unacceptable and it must end," Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said in a statement. "If the administration will not carry out its responsibility to provide information to this Committee without a subpoena, we will issue one.”