President Bush, facing fresh criticism about how he has waged the war on terror, acknowledged Saturday that he authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, saying the program was vital to saving American lives.
Bush, in an unusual live radio broadcast from the White House, detailed what he described as a “highly classified” program to root out terrorists. He defended the spy program as legal and declared he has no intentions of stopping it.
“In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to Al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations,” Bush said.
“Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies,” he said.
He said that top officials at the Justice Department and the National Security Agency regularly reviewed the program and that he had personally signed off on re-authorizations of surveillance activities more than 30 times.
But questions mounted about the legality of the program, and some members of Congress said the plan was an abuse of power.
Bush’s acknowledgment that he authorized the wiretaps was a “shocking admission,” said Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis).
“The president does not get to pick and choose which laws he wants to follow. He is a president, not a king,” Feingold said.
Bush said his authority to approve what he called a “vital tool in our war against the terrorists” came from his constitutional powers as commander in chief.
Bush said that he kept members of Congress informed about the plan, and on Saturday some said they knew about it. But even Republicans began to call for congressional hearings to learn more.
Bush’s speech followed a story in Friday’s New York Times–confirmed by other media outlets–that described how Bush had authorized the NSA to monitor hundreds of people in the U.S. without court approval in an effort to identify links with terrorists abroad through telephone and other electronic communications.
Special court was bypassed
The activities are of concern because Bush bypassed a special court that Congress established in the 1970s as the exclusive arbiter of requests to conduct domestic intelligence-gathering.
The review of the program that Bush mentioned involves only members of the executive branch, such as Atty. General Alberto Gonzales and White House counsel Harriet Miers.
Bush’s disclosure of the secret program was a striking revelation for an administration with a reputation for reticence when it comes to discussing any aspect of its inner workings.
In a stern tone, Bush said information about the program had been “improperly provided to news organizations.”
As a result, he said, “our enemies have learned information they should not have.”
A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity, said the president decided to publicly discuss the program because officials believed that “improper disclosure of it is harmful to our nation’s security and puts us at greater risk.”
The program adds fuel to a legal and political debate over the boundaries of presidential powers in dealing with the terrorist threat. News of the eavesdropping followed recent disclosures about the government’s alleged use of secret prisons in Eastern Europe.
Also, the administration had been under fire for refusing to back legislation that would ban cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees by any U.S. agency; last week, the White House reversed course and agreed to the measure.
Adding to the administration’s woes, the Senate on Friday blocked renewal of the USA Patriot Act, the signature law that that the administration has used in the courts to fight terrorists. The law had been passed overwhelmingly shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, but critics have charged parts of it allow the federal government to trample on civil liberties.
Bush began his address Saturday by lashing out at the Senate opponents of the renewal, calling that decision “irresponsible.”
The measure’s key sections are due to expire Dec. 31.
Bush said, “In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment.”
Some Republicans staunchly defended the president’s decision to approve the eavesdropping program and bypass obtaining warrants for such activity from the court established by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Jamal Ware, communications director of the House Intelligence Committee, said the chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) knew of the program, and believes it is essential.
But Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairwoman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said the program’s authority to intercept communications in the U.S. needs to be clarified.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee when Bush first authorized the wiretapping program, said she was informed of it shortly after it was created and had expressed concern about it.
Pelosi said that while the president “must have the best possible intelligence to protect the American people, intelligence must be produced in a manner consistent with the United States Constitution and our laws. The president’s statement today raises serious questions as to what the activities were and whether the activities were lawful.”
Hastert knew of program
Other lawmakers acknowledging they knew about the program included House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said it was “appropriate that the Congress have hearings” to look into the program, but indicated he does not believe the wiretaps were illegal.
“The fact is, as is now being revealed, Congress was consulted at least 12 times since Sept. 11, since the president has authorized these various interceptions of communications,” Cornyn said.
Retired Adm. Bobby Inman, who led the NSA from 1977 to 1981, said Bush’s authorization of the eavesdropping would have been justified right after the Sept. 11 attacks “because at that point you couldn’t get a court warrant unless you could show probable cause.”
“Once the Patriot Act was in place, I am puzzled what was the need to continue outside the court,” Inman added.
But he said, “If the fact is valid that Congress was notified, there will be no consequences.”
