Specter Vows a Close Look at Spy Program

It's not often that you'll find me posting an article in favor of a conservative, but this guy is on the right track.

Douglas Jehl of The New York Times writes:

Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said Sunday that Republicans would not grant President Bush "a blank check" in seeking to determine whether the domestic eavesdropping program that Mr. Bush authorized after the Sept. 11 attacks violated the law.

"Just because we're of the same party doesn't mean we're not going to look at this closely," Mr. Specter said in an appearance on "This Week" on ABC. Mr. Specter is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which plans to hold hearings on the matter next month, with witnesses to include Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

The program authorized by Mr. Bush bypassed a special federal court whose approval is required under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for domestic eavesdropping operations. Mr. Specter has said he does not agree with the White House view that Congress effectively authorized the surveillance, which was carried out by the National Security Agency, in a resolution passed shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Now this could be the standard feigned annoyance boilerplate. In fact I'm pretty sure it is, He follows up by saying there won't be any impeachment because of the "broad support" for the Bush Administration's antiterror work. I smell B.S.

Mr. Specter said Sunday that he was still considering the question of whether a president might possess special powers under wartime that would have allowed Mr. Bush to circumvent the surveillance act. He said that if Mr. Bush were found to have acted illegally, he would most likely face "a political price" rather than a more severe sanction, in part because of broad support of the administration's antiterrorism efforts.

"I don't see any talk about impeachment here," Mr. Specter said. "I don't think anybody doubts that the president is making a good faith effort here, that he sees a real problem, as we all do, and he's acting in a way that he feels he must."

The timing and scope for any Congressional inquiry into the eavesdropping remains unclear. Mr. Specter is the only chairman who has publicly promised to hold hearings, but he has said his panel will focus on legal questions, not the more highly classified details of the operation.

A date for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings has not yet been set. In both the Senate and House, the Intelligence Committees are also considering whether to call witnesses to talk about the eavesdropping program.

Well, at least he's against the wiretapping. He's Republican, any small step in the right direction for them is a big deal and they fight it tooth and nail.

The article can be found here:
Specter Vows a Close Look at Spy Program

Technorati tags: Specter, Wiretap, Spy, Bush, Scandal