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Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillance Illegal

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 05:10:19 AM EST
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A second report from the independent Congressional Research Agency finds that Bush's warrantless NSA electronic surveillance did not comply with federal law.

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.

Cumming's analysis found that both intelligence committees should have been briefed because the program involved intelligence collection activities. The only exception in the law applies to covert actions, Cumming found, and those programs must be reported to the "Gang of Eight," which includes House and Senate leaders in addition to heads of the intelligence panels. The administration can also withhold some operational details in rare circumstances, but that does not apply to the existence of entire programs, he wrote.

Unless the White House contends the program is a covert action, the memo said, "limiting congressional notification of the NSA program to the Gang of Eight . . . would appear to be inconsistent with the law."

Background on the first report earlier this month is here.

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    Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillance Illegal | 13 comments (13 topical)
    Re: Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillan (none / 0) (#1)
    by Johnny on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 05:34:32 AM EST
    Come on, let's fire him already.

    Re: Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillan (none / 0) (#2)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 06:50:21 AM EST
    Dog bites man.

    Re: Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillan (none / 0) (#3)
    by kdog on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 08:37:46 AM EST
    It is painfully obvious it's illegal to all but the wingnuttiest among us.

    Re: Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillan (none / 0) (#4)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 10:27:50 AM EST
    kdog - It was so obvious that all those lawyers who reviewed it say it is legal. Dog bites man.

    Re: Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillan (none / 0) (#5)
    by roger on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 10:45:05 AM EST
    PPJ, Dog bites man? Of course it is, W acted illegally, all reputable attorneys agree

    Re: Second Report Says Bush Warrantless Surveillan (none / 0) (#6)
    by Slado on Thu Jan 19, 2006 at 10:59:54 AM EST
    OBL saying that he still plans to attack America is why the majority of Americans have little patience for whiney liberals screeming about civil liberties. If OBL didn't want to kill us then maybe this plan of attack by the democrats would play but him and his buddies do so it won't. We live in a dangerous world and for MOST Americans they would prefer that their government do everything it can to protect them then do everything it can to protect the c