http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060104-7.htmlSetting The Record Straight On The Terrorist Ties Of Intercepted Communications. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Says The National Security Agency (NSA) Is Eavesdropping On American Citizens With No "Indication Of Wrongdoing." SEN. DURBIN: "And in passing the Patriot Act, we gave the government new authority, but we didn't give the National Security Agency the authority to spy on American citizens without any indication of wrongdoing." (CBS' "Early Show," 12/17/05)
But The NSA Authorization Is Solely For Intercepting Communications Of Suspected Al Qaeda Members Or Related Terrorist Groups.
Ranking Democrat On The House Intelligence Committee Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) Calls The NSA Program "Essential" To Targeting Al Qaeda. "As the Ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, I have been briefed since 2003 on a highly classified NSA foreign collection program that targeted Al Qaeda. I believe the program is essential to US national security and that its disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities." (Rep. Jane Harman, Harman Statement On NSA Electronic Surveillance Program, Press Release, 12/21/05)
The Program Targets Suspected "Al Qaeda Communications." DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE GENERAL MICHAEL HAYDEN: "Again, I make the point, what we are talking about here are communications we have every reason to believe are al Qaeda communications, one end of which is in the United States. And I don't think any of us would want any inefficiencies in our coverage of those kinds of communications, above all. And that's what this program allows us to do - it allows us to be as agile as operationally required to cover these targets." (The White House, Press Briefing, 12/19/05)
The Government Has "A Reasonable Basis To Conclude That One Party To The Communication" Is Affiliated With Al Qaeda. ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO GONZALES: "Another very important point to remember is that we have to have a reasonable basis to conclude that one party to the communication is a member of al Qaeda, affiliated with al Qaeda, or a member of an organization affiliated with al Qaeda, or working in support of al Qaeda. We view these authorities as authorities to confront the enemy in which the United States is at war with - and that is al Qaeda and those who are supporting or affiliated with al Qaeda. What we're trying to do is learn of communications, back and forth, from within the United States to overseas with members of al Qaeda. And that's what this program is about." (The White House, Press Briefing, 12/19/05)
umm, before you start quoting Hartman....
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7947.shtmlTop Dem to Bush: 'You broke the law'
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee told President Bush Wednesday that the White House broke the law by withholding information from the full congressional oversight committees about a new domestic surveillance program.
In a letter to Bush, Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said the National Security Act requires the heads of the various intelligence agencies to keep the entire House and Senate intelligence committees "fully and currently informed of the intelligence activities of the United States."
Only in the case of a highly classified covert action can the president choose to inform a narrower group of Congress members about his decision, Harman said. That action is defined in the law as an operation to influence political, economic or military conditions of another country.
"The NSA program does not qualify as a 'covert action,'" Harman wrote.
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