Bush blocked review of spy program: Gonzales

BUSH BLOCKED REVIEW OF SPY PROGRAM: GONZALES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Thomas Ferraro]
President Bush prevented an investigation earlier this year by Justice Department ethics lawyers of his warrantless domestic spying program, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified on Tuesday. AG Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee, however, that he was confident the program's constitutionality would be upheld in a proposed review by a secret federal court. AG Gonzales said President Bush refused to give the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility access to the classified program begun shortly after the September 11 attacks and disclosed in December by The New York Times. The office announced in May it was unable to conduct an investigation into the role department lawyers had in developing the National Security Agency's eavesdropping program, which targets overseas telephone calls and e-mails of Americans with suspected terrorists ties. Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) asked AG Gonzales why President Bush declined access, saying, "Many other lawyers in the Department of Justice had clearance. Why not OPR?" Noting the importance of the program, AG Gonzales said: "The president of the United States makes decisions about who is ultimately given access." At the White House, spokesman Tony Snow said since it is a highly classified program, Bush approves all requests to review it. "There were proper channels for doing legal review, and in fact, a legal review was done every 45 days, and the attorney general himself was involved in it," Snow said. He told reporters the Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates possible ethical abuses by Justice Department lawyers, was not the proper venue for conducting the review.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID...

* Bush Blocked Ethics Inquiry, Gonzales Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/19/washington/19gonzales.html

* Bush Blocked Bid to Examine Wiretap Program
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115323628282709858.html?mod=todays_us_pa...
(requires subscription)

* Bush Thwarted Probe Into NSA Wiretapping
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR200607...

* Bush barred probe of eavesdrop plan
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060719/a_gonzales19.art.htm

* Bush Blocked Internal Justice Probe of Wiretaps
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-legal19jul19,1,7...

* CDT Condemns Warrantless Surveillance "Compromise"
[SOURCE: Center for democracy & Technology]
A purported compromise between the White House and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) would legalize the administration's shadowy warrantless domestic surveillance programs and give the White House broad new powers, while offering no protection for innocent Americans. CDT will speak out against the proposed law when Policy Director Jim Dempsey testifies Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee. The proposed Specter measure gives the administration blanket authority to conduct whatever warrantless surveillance programs it wishes, with no judicial oversight.
CDT Testimony: Warrantless Surveillance: http://www.cdt.org/security/20060718fisa.pdf

* Proposed Surveillance Bill Would Sweep NSA Spying Programs Under the Rug
[SOURCE: Electronic Frontier Foundation]
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said today that he has negotiated a proposed bill with the White House regarding the NSA's illegal spying program. While the final bill is not public, a draft of the bill obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a sham compromise that would cut off meaningful legal review—sweeping current legal challenges out of the traditional court system and failing to require court review or congressional oversight of any future surveillance programs. "This so-called compromise bill is not a concession from the White House—it's a rubber stamp for any future spying program dreamed up by the executive," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "In essence, this bill threatens to make court oversight of electronic surveillance voluntary rather than mandatory."
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_07.php#004824