Report: Bush Authorized NSA to Spy in U.S.
Associated Press
ABC News
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Washington (US):
High-level administration figures, reacting to a report that the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States, asserted Friday that President Bush has respected the Constitution while striving to protect the American people. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Bush has "acted lawfully in every step that he has taken." His top spokesman, Scott McClellan, said that Bush "is going to remain fully committed to upholding our Constitution and protect the civil liberties of the American people.
And he has done both."
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See Also:
U.S. plays 'I Spy'
coll=ny-editorials-headlines
Spying Scandal Draws Heat
Senators defeat Bush in row over civil liberties
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But neither Rice nor McClellan would confirm or deny a New York Times report saying the super-secret NSA had spied on as many as 500 people inside the United States at any given time since 2002.
That year, following the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush authorized the NSA to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds perhaps thousands of people inside the United States, the Times reported.
Before the program began, the NSA typically limited its domestic surveillance to foreign embassies and missions and obtained court orders for such investigations. Overseas, 5,000 to 7,000 people suspected of terrorist ties are monitored at one time.
Dec 16, 2005
Associated Press
ABC News
_______
Washington (US):
High-level administration figures, reacting to a report that the National Security Agency eavesdropped without warrants on people inside the United States, asserted Friday that President Bush has respected the Constitution while striving to protect the American people. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Bush has "acted lawfully in every step that he has taken." His top spokesman, Scott McClellan, said that Bush "is going to remain fully committed to upholding our Constitution and protect the civil liberties of the American people.
And he has done both."
____________________
See Also:
U.S. plays 'I Spy'
coll=ny-editorials-headlines
Spying Scandal Draws Heat
Senators defeat Bush in row over civil liberties
_____________________
But neither Rice nor McClellan would confirm or deny a New York Times report saying the super-secret NSA had spied on as many as 500 people inside the United States at any given time since 2002.
That year, following the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush authorized the NSA to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds perhaps thousands of people inside the United States, the Times reported.
Before the program began, the NSA typically limited its domestic surveillance to foreign embassies and missions and obtained court orders for such investigations. Overseas, 5,000 to 7,000 people suspected of terrorist ties are monitored at one time.
Dec 16, 2005
