Folding Under Pressure, Bush Administration Concedes Judicial Role Over NSA Spying Program
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ACLU Demands More Information on "Innovative" Orders Issued by Secret Court
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WASHINGTON - Just two weeks before the Justice Department is set to defend
the program before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and one day before the
Attorney General is to testify before Congress, the Bush administration conceded
that the judicial branch has a role in overseeing surveillance by the NSA.
However, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed skepticism that the
changes announced by the administration comply with the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act and the Constitution.
"The Justice Department announcement
today is a quintessential flip-flop," said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive
Director. "The NSA was operating illegally and this eleventh-hour ploy is
clearly an effort to avoid judicial and Congressional scrutiny. Despite this
adroit back flip, the constitutional problems with the president's actions
remain unaddressed."
On Jan. 31, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
is scheduled to hear the government’s appeal from a ruling declaring the NSA
warrantless wiretapping program unconstitutional. The ACLU said that the court
should still rule on the case, adding that the Justice Department stated that
the president still retains the inherent authority to engage in wiretapping
without the oversight of the FISA court. The ACLU also said that, without more
information about what the secret FISA court has authorized, there is no way to
determine whether the NSA’s current activities are lawful.
The Justice
Department refused to confirm whether the orders generally authorize the program
as opposed to authorizing surveillance of individual persons based on probable
cause. The ACLU said that generalized program warrants are unconstitutional and
violate FISA.
"The legality of this unprecedented surveillance program
should not be decided by a secret court in one-sided proceedings," said Ann
Beeson, lead counsel in ACLU v. NSA and Associate Legal Director of the ACLU.
"And without a court order that prohibits warrantless wiretapping, Americans
can’t be sure that their private calls and e-mails are safe from unchecked
government intrusion."
The ACLU said it will send a letter to the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court calling on it to release more information on the
new orders.
The ACLU is also calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to
demand answers from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during a hearing scheduled
tomorrow.
"The Senate Judiciary Committee must demand Attorney General
Gonzales answer the many questions that remain," said Caroline Fredrickson,
Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "This move is pure smoke and
mirrors to avoid the scrutiny of the courts and Congress, and lawmakers should
not be fooled. If the White House now recognizes that the FISA court is the
right entity to approve wiretapping, why did the president continue to violate
the law for years?"
The Justice Department’s letter to Congress on the NSA
warrantless wiretapping program is up at: www.aclu.org/safefree/general/28043leg20070117.html
To
read more about the ACLU’s concerns with the NSA warrantless wiretapping
program, go to www.aclu.org/nsaspying