Sunday, December 25, 2005

Officials Want to Expand Review of Domestic Spying

NYT reported Congressional officials said Saturday that they wanted to investigate the disclosure that the National Security Agency had gained access to some of the country's main telephone arteries to glean data on possible terrorists.

They are probably going to huff and puff about doing too much, but what they should be doing is authorizing everything that is currently being done, AND ask that more of it be done. For example if a US phone number appears in an AlQaeda cell phone, not only should they listen in on any internatiional calls to or from that number, but they should listen in on domestic calls to and from that number, until they are certain that it is not a terrorist cell.
"As far as Congressional investigations are concerned," said Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, "these new revelations can only multiply and intensify the growing list of questions and concerns about the warrantless surveillance of Americans." Members of the Judiciary Committee have already indicated that they intend to conduct oversight hearings into the president's legal authority to order domestic eavesdropping on terrorist suspects without a warrant.

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