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Clinton Goes After Bush on Surveillance

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D.- NY) this past Wednesday vigorously attacked Republican President George W. Bush`s justifications for eavesdropping on domestic phone calls, referring to his explanations as "strange" and "far-fetched." Senator Clinton said she does not know whether the administration has broken any laws by eavesdropping without a warrant, but qualified that by saying the White House`s reasoning for the action is not adequate.

"Obviously, I support tracking down terrorists. I think that`s our obligation. But I think it can be done in a lawful way," Clinton said to reporters. "Their argument that it`s rooted in the authority to go after al-Qaida is far-fetched." Clinton`s remarks came during a week of ongoing scrutiny of White House and National Security Agency practices on Capitol Hill.

The White House has argued that resolutions passed by Congress after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon give the president authority to order electronic surveillance in order to protect the country from terrorists. A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court was created by Congress to approve eavesdropping warrants. "Their argument that it`s rooted in the Constitution inherently is kind of strange because we have FISA and FISA operated very effectively and it wasn`t that hard to get their permission," Clinton said.