U.S. Officials Agree to Release Domestic Spying Documents
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and other officials said they have agreed to turn over classified documents about the government's domestic spying program to the congressional judiciary and intelligence committees as early as today, ending a standoff that had included threats of subpoenas from Capitol Hill.
The agreement follows Gonzales's announcement two weeks ago that the Bush administration was abandoning a controversial program that allowed the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without warrants because it now has approval for the monitoring from a secret intelligence court.
But the administration has refused to release the court's Jan. 10 orders publicly, and leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees had been rebuffed in their demands for copies of the documents.
Gonzales--at a briefing to announce the formation of a new "human trafficking unit" in the Justice Department--downplayed the conflict with lawmakers.
"It's never been the case where we said we would never provide the access," Gonzales said.
Officials said the documents, including court orders and the applications that led to them, would be provided to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking Republican member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).
(Continued here.)
Washington Post
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and other officials said they have agreed to turn over classified documents about the government's domestic spying program to the congressional judiciary and intelligence committees as early as today, ending a standoff that had included threats of subpoenas from Capitol Hill.
The agreement follows Gonzales's announcement two weeks ago that the Bush administration was abandoning a controversial program that allowed the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without warrants because it now has approval for the monitoring from a secret intelligence court.
But the administration has refused to release the court's Jan. 10 orders publicly, and leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees had been rebuffed in their demands for copies of the documents.
Gonzales--at a briefing to announce the formation of a new "human trafficking unit" in the Justice Department--downplayed the conflict with lawmakers.
"It's never been the case where we said we would never provide the access," Gonzales said.
Officials said the documents, including court orders and the applications that led to them, would be provided to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking Republican member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).
(Continued here.)
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