Subpoenas Issued over NSA Warrantless Wiretapping

[Dominus Atheos]

Lawbean

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to subpoena documents from the Bush Administration related to the government’s admitted eavesdropping on Americans’ overseas emails and phone calls without getting court approval. In a 13-3 vote, the Committee decided to authorize chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to issue subpoenas for documents related to the NSA warrantless surveillance program.



Nearly any request is going to be met with tough resistance from the White House, and the confrontation over the documents “could set the stage for a constitutional showdown over the separation of powers.” The subpoenas have long been expected from the Judiciary Committee. If the Administration decides to ignore the subpoena, the Committee can find the President or Attorney General in contempt, ask for a full Senate vote and then force a U.S. attorney to prosecute. Typically, compromises are reached before a full vote is taken in the Senate. Bush could also challenge the subpoenas, citing a right of executive privilege his predecessors have invoked with mixed success to keep certain materials private and prevent aides from testifying.



Leahy issued the a statement after the vote which asked, “Why has this Administration been so steadfast in its refusal? Deputy Attorney General Comey’s account suggests that some of these documents would reveal an Administration perfectly willing to ignore the law. Is that what they are hiding?” He also stated, “We are asking not for intimate operational details but for the legal justifications. We have been in the dark too long.”



Though the NSA operated the wiretapping program, which did not comply with the law known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that regulates intelligence wiretapping inside the States, the subpoenas do not cover that secretive agency. The House Judiciary Committee has also threatened to subpoena the NSA documents. In a hearing last month, Principal Assistant Attorney General Steven Bradbury refused the committee’s request to turn over the papers, but refused to assert executive privilege in doing so.

[JLTucker]

Waste of time, in my opinion. The White House will not comply.