Conyers Asks Gonzales For More Spying Info
The New York Times reported on Sunday that a 2004 dispute within the Bush administration over a secret anti-terrorism surveillance program was prompted by concerns about the National Security Agency searching through large amounts of computer data.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers didn't waste much time trying to get to the bottom of this latest plot twist. On Monday, the Michigan Democrat asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to provide copies of "all opinions, memoranda, and background materials, as well as any dissenting views, materials, and opinions," linked to the alleged data mining.
In the letter, Conyers said he was concerned that the disclosure through the media, stemming from "current and former officials briefed on the program," might be an attempt to respond to congressional pressure "via administration leak of potentially classified information."
New York Democrat Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott, who chairs the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, also signed the letter.
On a related note, Technology Daily's PM Edition has coverage of President Bush's weekly radio address, which focused on reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and reactions to his speech by civil libertarians and lawmakers.
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