[Infowarrior] - Secret Court to Govern Wiretapping Plan

[Richard Forno]

Secret Court to Govern Wiretapping Plan

Jan 17 2:34 PM US/Eastern

    
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/17/D8MN7KQ00.html
            

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department, easing a Bush administration
policy, said Wednesday it has decided to give an independent body authority
to monitor the government's controversial domestic spying program.

In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales said this authority has been given to the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court and that it already has approved one request
for monitoring the communications of a person believed to be linked to
al-Qaida or an associated terror group.

The court orders approving collection of international communications _
whether it originates in the United States or abroad _ was issued Jan. 10,
according to the two-page letter to Sens. Patrick Leahy, D- Vt., and Arlen
Specter, R-Pa.

"As a result of these orders, any electronic surveillance that was occurring
as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program will now be conducted subject
to the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court," Gonzales
wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

"Accordingly, under these circumstances, the President has determined not to
reauthorize the Terrorist Surveillance Program when the current
authorization expires," the attorney general wrote.

The Bush administration secretly launched the surveillance program in 2001
to monitor international phone calls and e-mails to or from the United
States involving people suspected by the government of having terrorist
links.

The White House said it is satisfied that the new guidelines meet its
concerns about national security.

"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has put together its guidelines
and its rules and those have met administration concerns about speed and
agility when it comes to responding to bits of intelligence where we may to
be able to save American lives," White House press secretary Tony Snow said.

Snow said he could not explain why those concerns could not have been
addressed before the program was started. He said the president will not
reauthorize the present program because the new rules will serve as
guideposts.