WASHINGTON - A group of Republican senators failed to reach an agreement Tuesday on legislation that would write the Bush administration's controversial eavesdropping program into law.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he formed the "informal working group" to craft legislation that will strengthen its legal basis. More than a half dozen senators left an hourlong meeting offering few details about progress. ...
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Taking a middle ground, former CIA Director James Woolsey said the warrantless eavesdropping is appropriate when U.S. intelligence officials are trying to identify terrorists based on their phone calls or other communications. But he said once suspects are identified, then court-approved surveillance is appropriate.
Doug Kmiec, a Pepperdine University law professor, said claims by lawmakers that Bush acted illegally by authorizing the warrantless surveillance were "partisan, unnecessary, unfortunate and unwise."
"There is a genuine argument on both sides," Kmiec said, adding that he generally supports Specter's legislation imposing modest limits on such surveillance.
Bruce Fein, a constitutional expert, was far more critical of Bush's executive order. He said the legal theory justifying the eavesdropping "would equally justify mail-openings, burglaries, torture or internment camps — all in the name of gathering foreign intelligence."
"Unless rebuked, it will lie around like a loaded weapon, ready to be used by an incumbent who claims an urgent need," Fein said.
Fein urged Congress to wield its power to set budgets to prevent such eavesdropping by the NSA, and said the president should more broadly explain why existing powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act were inadequate.
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