AHHHH!
The House chairman of the Judiciary Committee has drafted and sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the warrantless wiretapping program.
The Republican Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) has issued 51 questions to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on President Bush’s warrantless wiretap program.
The letter, issued to Gonzales today and acquired by RAW STORY, demands answers to myriad legal questions on the program, which involved eavesdropping on Americans’ calls overseas. Sensenbrenner has given Gonzales a Mar. 2 deadline to respond.
This is combined with Heather Wilson’s (NM) recent shocker
A House Republican whose subcommittee oversees the National Security Agency broke ranks with the White House on Tuesday and called for a full Congressional inquiry into the Bush administration’s domestic eavesdropping program.
Shit meet fan?
Questions:
“What is the rationale for authorizing a program to conduct surveillance in a manner that does not require prior judicial review by the FISA court?”
“Have past United States Presidents employed signals intelligence of the kind authorized by President Bush after 9/11 to protect the nation during wartime? Please explain.”
“What legal precedents, if any, support the Administration’s position that the September 14, 2001 AUMF directive to the President to use “all necessary and appropriate force” against al Qaeda included the ability to authorize NSA intercepts of al Qaeda-related communications into and out of the United States?”
“Do you agree that FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) ‘expressly prohibits’ the specific activities under this program?”
Read letter here
