Administration Defends Wiretapping Actions

The U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has defended the warrantless U.S. wiretapping plan, approved by the President. He says they are legal because the Congressional resolution authorizing the use of force gave the President that power.

"Our position is that authorization to use force, which was passed by the Congress in the days following September 11, constitutes that other authorization. . . . to engage in this kind of signals intelligence," Gonzales
said.

He also said, "One might argue, now wait a minute, there's nothing in the authorization to use force that specifically mentions electronic surveillance," but said "We believe Congress has authorized this kind of surveillance."

The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, appears to make illegal for the U.S. it conduct surveillance on U.S. citizens in the United States without court approval.

But AG Gonzales said that the "FISA very important in the war on terror, but it doesn't provide the speed and the agility that we need in all circumstances to deal with this new kind of threat."