FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON - Following reports by the National Journal that Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales advised President Bush to shut down an internal review
of the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program due to the
possibility that his own actions would be scrutinized, the American Civil
Liberties Union today renewed its call for a special prosecutor to be appointed
to investigate the program.
The following may be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU
Washington Legislative Office:
"If these reports are true, they raise serious questions about the attorney
general’s willingness to place himself and his actions above the law and above
rebuke. In America, no one is above the law. And, no one - certainly not the
attorney general - should interfere with an investigation into whether laws have
been broken and the Constitution subverted.
"The decision to suspend the investigation was unprecedented. The Office of
Professional Responsibility’s top lawyer said that office has never before been
prevented from investigating, even when dealing with highly classified
information. This latest revelation shows again why the attorney general must
appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the program. The American people and
the Constitution deserve an independent investigator who can, and will, get to
the truth.
"We applaud Senators Durbin, Kennedy, Feingold and Schumer for immediately
asking the attorney general to clarify his actions regarding the OPR
investigation. We urge Congress to stand for the Constitution and conduct
vigorous oversight on this issue."
For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the NSA warrantless
surveillance program, go to: www.aclu.org/nsaspying
