The Bushies will brief the FISA judges on the FISA-free surveillance program previously unknown to most of them...
Several judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said they want to hear directly from administration officials why President Bush believed he had the authority to order, without the court's permission, wiretapping of some phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Of serious concern to several judges is whether any information gleaned from intercepts by the National Security Agency was later used to gain their permission for wiretaps without the source being disclosed.
The court is made up of 11 judges who, on a rotating basis, hear government applications for surveillance warrants. But only the presiding judge, currently Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, was notified of the government eavesdropping program. One judge, James Robertson, who also serves on the federal bench in Washington, resigned his seat on the surveillance court in protest shortly after the wiretapping was revealed by the New York Times in mid-December. Perhaps the administration simply wants to explain their reading of Article II to the judges...
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Jane Harman pulls no punches...
Previous:
Tags: politics, News, Bush, national security, NSA, government, spying, president, impeachment |
