Investigation of warrantless eavesdropping program urged

Legal experts, privacy advocates and Democratic lawmakers on Friday called for congressional and independent investigations into whether the Bush administration broke the law by authorizing a secret program to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens without a court order.

Seven Democrats held an unofficial hearing in the basement of a House office building to examine revelations that Bush ordered the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless wiretaps.

"I want to be absolutely clear, what the president ordered in this case was a crime," said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University.

He added that he believes Bush's order is an impeachable offense. "This type of violation should be a textbook example of an impeachment issue, because not only is it a federal crime but it violates the doctrine of separation of power," he said.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., urged government employees to stop working on any aspect of the NSA program.

"I would hope that those within the administration that have been working on this program would immediately cease and desist from any further electronic surveillance not approved by the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] court ... out of respect for their own potential liability," he said. "I would hope that if there's anybody at DoJ that's watching this -- or at NSA -- that they're mindful of the very serious legal questions that have been raised and that any future surveillance go through the FISA court."

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to attend the hearing, or send a representative. Nobody from the administration showed up.

Conyers said he also sent a letter Friday to telephone and Internet providers, inquiring how and when they have turned over customer content and records to the government as part of the program.

"Once we can confirm what access the government has and how it's been used, I think we can move forward," he said.

The administration has vigorously defended the NSA program. Gonzales on Thursday sent a 42-page letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., outlining the administration's justifications for the program.

"The NSA activities are supported by the president's well-recognized inherent constitutional authority as commander in chief and sole organ for the nation in foreign affairs to conduct warrantless surveillance of enemy forces for intelligence purposes to detect and disrupt armed attacks on the United States," Gonzales wrote.

He argued that Congress gave Bush the power to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance through the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which was enacted one week after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Critics contend, however, that Bush should have followed the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires the administration to go through a secret court before conducting electronic surveillance.

Friday's unofficial hearing was held, in part, out of frustration that there has not been more effort to investigate Bush's actions. No official hearings on the matter are scheduled in the House. The Senate Judiciary Committee, however, plans to hold a hearing next month, with Gonzales as the key witness.

Caroline Fredrickson, the American Civil Liberties Union Washington legislative director, urged the Justice Department to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate the administration.

The ACLU joined a coalition of organizations and individuals this week in filing a lawsuit against the NSA to stop the program.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said he agrees a special counsel is needed.

"If you're dealing with what appears to be a criminal conspiracy by the president, the vice president, the attorney general and others, you cannot ask the attorney general and the people under him to fairly investigate," Nadler said. "Obviously, they will dismiss this out of hand because they will not admit how real this is."