Leahy, Specter push DoJ on spying program

The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday accused Attorney General Alberto Gonzales of misleading the panel as it sought answers on the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

{mosads}“Your consistent stonewalling and misdirection have prevented this committee from carrying out its constitutional oversight and legislative duties for far too long,” Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking Republican Arlen Specter (Pa.) said in a letter.

“This committee has made no fewer than eight formal requests over the past 18 months — to the White House, the attorney general, or other Department of Justice officials — seeking documents and information related to this surveillance program,” the senators wrote. “These requests have sought the executive branch legal analysis of this program and documents reflecting its authorization by the president. You have rebuffed all requests for documents and your answers to our questions have been wholly inadequate and, at times, misleading.”

The two senators also said they were deeply troubled by the testimony of former Deputy Attorney General James Comey.

Comey had told the panel that Gonzales, who was White House counsel at the time, and then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card visited the sickbed of former Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004 to persuade him to overrule Comey, who as acting attorney general refused to sign off on the legality of the program.

Ashcroft refused, noting that Comey was in charge of the department at the time and that he agreed with his deputy on the issue, but the administration still reauthorized the program.

“This incident obviously raises very serious questions about your personal behavior and commitment to the rule of law,” Leahy and Specter said.