White House in U-turn on wiretapping
White House in U-turn on wiretapping
By Demetri Sevastopulo and Alim Remtulla in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: January 17 2007 19:39 | Last updated: January 18 2007 02:19
The White House has agreed to place its controversial domestic spying programme under court supervision in a major policy reversal.
The move came the day before the Senate judiciary committee was expected to grill Alberto Gonzales, the attorney-general, over the Terrorist Surveillance Programme, which Mr Bush approved after the September 11 attacks of 2001.
The White House has argued that the programme – which allows the National Security Agency to intercept the communications of Americans with suspected links to al-Qaeda without obtaining a warrant – is legal because of the president’s inherent powers as commander-in-chief.
But critics accused him of ignoring a 1978 law that requires the government to seek approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. In declaring the programme unconstitutional last year, a federal court rebuked Mr Bush by ruling that there were “no hereditary kings in America”.
The Justice Department has appealed the decision. Asked whether the latest move was linked to the pending appeals case, Tony Snow, White House spokesman, replied: “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.”
But the American Civil Liberties Union described the move as a “quintessential flip-flop”.
“The NSA was operating illegally and this 11th-hour ploy is clearly an effort to avoid judicial and congressional scrutiny,” said Anthony Romero, ACLU executive director. “Despite this adroit back flip, the constitutional problems with the president’s actions remain unaddressed.”
Officials said the administration had asked the intelligence court to find a way to bring the programme under the auspices of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before details of the programme were leaked to the media in 2005.
Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate judiciary committee, questioned why the administration had not made that clear to Congress earlier.
“It is regrettable that these steps weren’t taken a long time ago,” said Mr Specter, who was one of the few Republican critics of the programme. “I’d like to have an explanation as to why it took from last spring of 2005...when there has been such a public furore and public concern.”
Mr Specter added that he wanted the administration to explain whether the court would approve warrants on a case-by-case basis, or whether the administration had blanket authority to monitor communications of Americans where there is “probable cause” they have links to al-Qaeda and its affiliates.
A senior Justice Department official said the move should “take some of the political heat off the debate” in Congress over the programme. But he said the administration still wanted Congress to pass legislation to reform the FISA court process.
Democrats, before regaining control of Congress in November, were previously cautious about criticising the programme out of fear they would be labelled weak on national security. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic majority leader, said the move invalidated the administration’s argument that the FISA court was too cumbersome.
But Justice Department officials briefing reporters said the administration still wanted Congress to update the FISA to make the process more efficient.
By Demetri Sevastopulo and Alim Remtulla in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: January 17 2007 19:39 | Last updated: January 18 2007 02:19
The White House has agreed to place its controversial domestic spying programme under court supervision in a major policy reversal.
The move came the day before the Senate judiciary committee was expected to grill Alberto Gonzales, the attorney-general, over the Terrorist Surveillance Programme, which Mr Bush approved after the September 11 attacks of 2001.
The White House has argued that the programme – which allows the National Security Agency to intercept the communications of Americans with suspected links to al-Qaeda without obtaining a warrant – is legal because of the president’s inherent powers as commander-in-chief.
But critics accused him of ignoring a 1978 law that requires the government to seek approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. In declaring the programme unconstitutional last year, a federal court rebuked Mr Bush by ruling that there were “no hereditary kings in America”.
The Justice Department has appealed the decision. Asked whether the latest move was linked to the pending appeals case, Tony Snow, White House spokesman, replied: “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.”
But the American Civil Liberties Union described the move as a “quintessential flip-flop”.
“The NSA was operating illegally and this 11th-hour ploy is clearly an effort to avoid judicial and congressional scrutiny,” said Anthony Romero, ACLU executive director. “Despite this adroit back flip, the constitutional problems with the president’s actions remain unaddressed.”
Officials said the administration had asked the intelligence court to find a way to bring the programme under the auspices of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before details of the programme were leaked to the media in 2005.
Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate judiciary committee, questioned why the administration had not made that clear to Congress earlier.
“It is regrettable that these steps weren’t taken a long time ago,” said Mr Specter, who was one of the few Republican critics of the programme. “I’d like to have an explanation as to why it took from last spring of 2005...when there has been such a public furore and public concern.”
Mr Specter added that he wanted the administration to explain whether the court would approve warrants on a case-by-case basis, or whether the administration had blanket authority to monitor communications of Americans where there is “probable cause” they have links to al-Qaeda and its affiliates.
A senior Justice Department official said the move should “take some of the political heat off the debate” in Congress over the programme. But he said the administration still wanted Congress to pass legislation to reform the FISA court process.
Democrats, before regaining control of Congress in November, were previously cautious about criticising the programme out of fear they would be labelled weak on national security. Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic majority leader, said the move invalidated the administration’s argument that the FISA court was too cumbersome.
But Justice Department officials briefing reporters said the administration still wanted Congress to update the FISA to make the process more efficient.
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