Judiciary Democrats Seek Documents
Relating To Bush Administration’s Illegal Spying Program
…Senators Seek
Proof Of Administration’s Claims
It Sought Permission To Spy On Americans
Through 2001 Resolution Authorizing Military Force
Before Invasion Of Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Friday, Jan. 27) – The
Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Friday sent a
letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales seeking information
relating to the Bush Administration’s domestic spying program in
preparation for the panel’s Feb. 6 hearing on the program’s
legality.
The senators are seeking documents and
correspondence from the days immediately following the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks. The Bush Administration has claimed it was justified
in conducting an illegal and covert spying program for four years
because of a resolution Congress passed in 2001 authorizing the use
of military force.
Both Republican and Democratic
senators have disagreed with the Administration’s claims. Senator
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking Democratic member of the
committee, last week introduced a resolution setting the record
straight that Congress did not authorize President Bush’s illegal
spying program when it passed the 2001 resolution governing the use
of military force in the war on terror.
The Judiciary Committee is scheduled
to hold a hearing on the Administration’s illegal spying program on
Feb. 6. Attorney General Gonzales is expected to testify at that
hearing.
The text of the letter is below.
A pdf version is available.
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January 27, 2006
The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Attorney General Gonzales:
We are pleased that you have agreed to
testify at the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on Monday, February 6,
2006, in connection with the legal justifications of the recently
revealed NSA surveillance programs. To enable us to prepare for the
hearing, we request that you provide the following information
without delay and in advance of that hearing:
(1)
Please provide all letters, memoranda, notes, e-mails
or other documents that are or reflect communications from the
Administration to Congress during the time period September 11
through September 14, 2001, of proposals for, or draft language to
be included in what came to be the Authorization for Use of Military
Force.
(2)
Please provide all letters, memoranda, notes, e-mails
or other documents that are or reflect communications from the
Administration to Congress during the time period September 11
through September 14, 2001, of the Administration’s understanding of
the meaning of the language being considered for inclusion in what
came to be the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
(3)
Please provide all documents that are or reflect
internal Administration communications during the time period
September 11 through September 18, 2001, regarding the meaning of
the language being considered for inclusion in what came to be the
Authorization for Use of Military Force.
(4)
The Authorization for Use of Military Force makes no
mention of domestic surveillance. What specific language does the
Administration assert grants authority to the President to conduct
domestic surveillance without seeking warrants from the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court?
(5)
Please provide copies of all memoranda and legal
opinions rendered by the Department of Justice during the past 30
years that address the constitutionality of government practices and
procedures with respect to electronic surveillance.
(6)
Please provide any documents by which the President
has, prior to and after September 11, 2001, authorized the NSA
surveillance programs, including all underlying legal opinions
authored by the White House.
We would appreciate your prompt
cooperation with these requests for underlying background
information relevant to the hearing.
Sincerely,
PATRICK LEAHY
EDWARD KENNEDY
JOSEPH BIDEN
HERB KOHL
DIANNE FEINSTEIN
RUSSELL FEINGOLD
CHARLES SCHUMER
RICHARD DURBIN
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