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Senate chairman eyes bill to get wiretap bid to court

BY TOM BRUNE | NEWSDAY WASHINGTON BUREAU

February 9, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday said he is drafting legislation to force the Bush administration to submit its controversial warrantless wiretapping program to a special secret court to determine whether it is constitutional.

The announcement came on a day in which more Republicans raised concerns about the National Security Agency's eavesdropping program, including the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who sent the Justice Department 51 questions about it.

The White House appeared to be moving yesterday to respond to the members of its own party restive over President George W. Bush's authorization of the NSA to listen in without required court approval on conversations between people in the United States and overseas if there is a suspected terrorist connection.

Officials gave a briefing for the first time to all members of the House intelligence committee yesterday and are scheduled to do the same today for the Senate intelligence committee today. Previously, the briefings were limited to eight top congressional leaders.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, surprised some when he went to the Senate floor yesterday to say he was considering legislation after the administration appeared "disinclined" to go on its own to the court established by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

On Monday, at the hearing he called on the NSA program, Specter urged Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to voluntarily put the NSA program before the special court because its judges understand surveillance matters and had always kept wiretap applications secret.

But Gonzales said there was no need to do so "once the determination was made that neither the Constitution nor FISA prohibited the use of this tool."

Specter yesterday said members of Congress and even the military had raised questions about the program, and that taking it to a court whose specialty is approving applications for wiretaps could ease minds.

Specter said some colleagues gave him "affirmative responses" to the idea, but Democrats said it was premature to talk bills until after two more planned hearings are held.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the administration was willing to listen to ideas from Congress.