Progressive Talking Points 1/3/06

New Year, New Spying Problems

Over the weekend, President Bush continued to defend his warrantless spying program, claiming that the NSA only listens to a few numbers and is only tracking the enemy. What he doesn’t acknowledge is that he can get the same results by following the law. If the government suspected a U.S. citizen was communicating with a terrorist, the surveillance would be approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. And the evidence obtained with a warrant from the FISA court would most likely be admissible in court, whereas any evidence from Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program is probably not admissible in court and suspected terrorists are already pursuing appeals. Bush’s actions have made it tougher for us to capture or kill the terrorists. Americans would be safer if President Bush worked within the law to track terrorists.

• Officials within the Bush administration objected to spying without a warrant. In 2004, James Comey, top deputy to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, "indicated he was unwilling to give his approval to certifying central aspects of the program.” Comey was Acting Attorney General because Ashcroft was in the hospital recovering from surgery. Instead of accepting Comey’s refusal, Andrew Card and Alberto Gonzales went to Ashcroft’s bedside to get approval. According to Newsweek, Ashcroft – one of the most loyal members of the Bush administration – refused to extend approval of the program.
  
  
• The Department of Defense grabbed hold of information obtained from the NSA program. According to the Washington Post, information captured by the NSA “has been passed on to other government agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency.” And earlier in December, NBC News revealed that the Department of Defense was "monitoring … peaceful anti-war and counter-military recruitment groups."
  
  
• Conservatives are equally critical of warrantless domestic spying. Much of the criticism of the domestic spying program has not come from progressives, but from conservatives. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said, "there is no doubt that this is inappropriate" and plans to hold hearings, which Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN) supports. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his concern over the legality of going around FISA, and conservative columnist William Safire said, "I'm with the critics."