[Mb-civic] Probe Set In NSA Bugging - Washington Post
William Swiggard
swiggard at comcast.net
Wed Jan 11 03:49:03 PST 2006
Probe Set In NSA Bugging
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 11, 2006; A04
The National Security Agency's inspector general has opened an
investigation into eavesdropping without warrants in the United States
by the agency authorized by President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks, according to a letter released late yesterday.
The Pentagon's acting inspector general, Thomas F. Gimble, wrote that
his counterpart at the NSA "is already actively reviewing aspects of
that program" and has "considerable expertise in the oversight of
electronic surveillance," according to the letter sent to House
Democrats who have requested official investigations of the NSA program.
Gimble's letter appears to confirm that an internal investigation into
the NSA's domestic eavesdropping program, authorized by Bush in a secret
order revealed in recent weeks, is underway. The Justice Department has
opened a separate criminal investigation into the leak of the highly
classified program's existence.
Officials in NSA Inspector General Joel Brenner's office could not be
reached for comment last night.
A group of 39 House Democrats wrote Gimble and other officials last
month requesting investigations into the legality of the NSA program.
Gimble responded that his office would decline to launch its own
investigation because of the ongoing NSA probe.
Another inspector general, Glenn A. Fine of the Justice Department, told
the same group of lawmakers in a recent letter that his office does not
have jurisdiction. The Democrats responded with a letter to Fine on
Monday, arguing that both the inspector general statute and the USA
Patriot Act require Fine's office to get involved.
Bush, who has joined his aides in an unusually public defense of the
secret program, said last month that "the NSA's activities under this
authorization are thoroughly reviewed by the Justice Department and
NSA's top legal officials, including NSA's general counsel and inspector
general."
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said NSA's inspector general should not be
conducting an investigation if the office has played a role in approving
the program.
"The inspector general for NSA has repeatedly reviewed this and okayed
it, . . . so I don't know how his investigation is going to get a new
set of eyes on this," Lofgren said. "How are they going to be able to
investigate themselves?"
Justice officials said the request has been referred to the department's
Office of Professional Responsibility. As the current attorney general
and previous White House counsel, Alberto R. Gonzales played a central
role in reviewing the wiretapping effort's legality and has strongly
defended it in recent public statements.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/10/AR2006011001552.html?nav=hcmodule
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