Freedom

Gonzales an Issue in Surveillance Law Upgrade

WASHINGTON -- White House officials and Democratic congressional leaders are still trying to work out differences to modernize the law on monitoring communications between suspected terrorists. But beyond technical and legal issues, embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is one of the sticking points. The Bush administration wants Congress to act on the proposal before it leaves on its August recess at the end of the week, citing concerns about a heightened terror threat. The DNI proposal gives the attorney general the authority to approve and monitor the surveillance. However, the Democrats want the FISA court -- the special panel that has to approve any wiretaps involving U.S. persons -- to oversee the eavesdropping and authorize warrants when there is a pattern of calls from a foreign target to the United States. Full story...

Posted by Editor at August 2, 2007 02:48 PM