Maine Delegation Outlines Their Positions on Wiretapping
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 — President Bush’s domestic wiretapping program has stirred up a lot of controversy, and the Maine congressional delegation has doubts about the program’s legality.
“Revelations that the U.S. government has conducted domestic electronic surveillance without express legal authority indeed warrants congressional examination,” Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said in a statement after the program became known about in December. “I believe the Congress – as a coequal branch of government – must immediately and expeditiously review the use of this practice.”
Sen. Snowe and four Senate Democrats sent a letter at the end of last year encouraging the Judiciary Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence to hold hearings.
The Judiciary Committee started its hearings Monday with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testifying. The intelligence committee is scheduled to hold a closed hearing on Thursday.
Snowe, a member of the intelligence committee, said she looked forward to learning more about the legal justifications for the National Security Agency’s program at Thursday’s hearing. “The NSA’s domestic electronic surveillance program raises profound questions about the executive branch’s authority as it pursues our enemies in the war on terror,” she said in a statement Tuesday.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also is in favor of bringing the issue to Capitol Hill with hearings.
“There is no question that there are terrorists that want to strike our country, and it is important that the Administration have the authority to use all the tools necessary to detect those plots,” Collins said in a statement. “It is also important, however, that we have in place a system of checks and balances to ensure that our efforts to protect Americans from terrorist attack do not infringe upon our personal liberties.”
Rep. Michael Michaud, D-2 nd District, also supports the Senate hearings, and said he believes the administration had plenty of tools within the existing law to defend the country.
“While I share the President’s commitment to securing our country from those who wish to do us harm, I firmly believe that our surveillance programs must be conducted within the law,” Michaud said in a statement. “Our law and intelligence communities need the necessary tools to ensure that critical information is obtained that would help prevent future attacks. However, we have legal safeguards in place, including the FISA Court, that exist to ensure that we can gather intelligence in a lawful way. We should not be circumventing these safeguards.”
The secret court was created under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Rep. Tom Allen, D-1 st District, said he welcomes the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation. “Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ defense of the program was evasive and incomplete,” Allen said of Gonzales’ appearance before the committee on Monday. “Further and broader investigation is clearly needed.”
“The law is clear: the National Security Agency cannot conduct surveillance of Americans’ foreign communications without a court-approved warrant,” Allen said in a statement Tuesday. “The President’s program of warrant-less surveillance may violate basic Fourth Amendment rights and has troubling consequences for our democracy. The Constitution forbids any government official, including the President, from waiving or ignoring fundamental liberties as a matter of convenience or policy.”
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