Specter touts deal on eavesdropping review
By Katherine Shrader
7-13-06

WASHINGTON - The White House has conditionally agreed to a court review of its controversial eavesdropping program, Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter said Thursday.

Specter said President Bush has agreed to sign legislation that would authorize the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review the constitutionality of the National Security Agency's most high-profile monitoring operations.

"You have here a recognition by the president that he does not have a blank check," the Pennsylvania Republican told his committee.

An administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the bill's language gives the president the option of submitting the program to the intelligence court, rather than making the review a requirement.

The official said that Bush will submit to the court review as long the bill is not changed, adding that the legislation preserves the right of future presidents to skip the court review.

Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the committee's senior Democrat, said Bush could submit the program to the court right now, if he wished. He called the potential legislation "an interesting bargain."

"He's saying, if you do every single thing I tell you to do, I'll do what I should have done anyway," Leahy said.

"The key point in the bill is that it recognizes the president's constitutional authority,"

• Some Key Points in the bill
• • Require the attorney general to give the intelligence court information on the program's constitutionality, the government's efforts to protect Americans’ identities and the basis used to determine that the intercepted communications involve terrorism.
• • Expand the time for emergency warrants secured under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from three to seven days.
• • Create a new offense if government officials misuse information.
• • At the NSA's request, clarify that international calls that merely pass through terminals in the United States are not subject to the judicial process established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
• • The administration official, who asked not to be identified because discussions are still ongoing, said the bill also would give the attorney general power to consolidate the 100 lawsuits filed against the surveillance operations into one case before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Continue Reading This Article...

Mixed signals on Guantanamo trials
McCain says what he heard is different from what officials testified

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain said Thursday that senior officials in the Bush administration had agreed to prosecute suspected terrorists using a court system similar to the military’s code of justice.

Citing recent meetings with Stephen Hadley, the president’s national security adviser, and other top administration officials, McCain said the White House would not insist upon legislation authorizing military commissions established by the Pentagon.

Such a promise would contradict testimony heard earlier this week from administration officials, who told lawmakers that Congress should not turn to the Uniform Code of Military Justice because it would grant terrorists too many freedoms and would be impractical on the battlefield.

Continue Reading This Article...