Congressional Agency Questions Legality of Wiretaps (briefings too limited

[papau]

Congressional Agency Questions Legality of Wiretaps (briefings too limited


the second from CRS this month to question the legality of the domestic spying program, with its conclusion that the President improperly limited its briefings of Congress on the program.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011802158_pf.html

Congressional Agency Questions Legality of Wiretaps

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, January 19, 2006; A05

The Bush administration appears to have violated the National Security Act by limiting its briefings about a warrantless domestic eavesdropping program to congressional leaders, according to a memo from Congress's research arm released yesterday.

The Congressional Research Service opinion said that the amended 1947 law requires President Bush to keep all members of the House and Senate intelligence committees "fully and currently informed" of such intelligence activities as the domestic surveillance effort.

The memo from national security specialist Alfred Cumming is the second report this month from CRS to question the legality of aspects of Bush's domestic spying program. A Jan. 6 report concluded that the administration's justifications for the program conflicted with current law.

Yesterday's analysis was requested by Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, who wrote in a letter to Bush earlier this month that limiting information about the eavesdropping program violated the law and provided for poor oversight.
The White House has said it informed congressional leaders about the NSA program in more than a dozen briefings, but has refused to provide further details. At a minimum, the briefings included the chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence oversight committees and the two ranking Democrats, known collectively as the "Gang of Four," according to various sources.
"We believe that Congress was appropriately briefed," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement last night.<snip>