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US Cheney says president has spying authority
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-21 08:35

US Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday called for "strong and robust" presidential powers, saying executive authority was eroded during the Watergate and Vietnam eras.

Some lawmakers objected that President Bush's decision to spy on Americans to foil terrorists showed he was flexing more muscle than the Constitution allows.

The revelations of Bush's four-year-old order approving domestic surveillance without court warrants has spurred a fiery debate over the balance of power between the White House, Congress and the judiciary.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., right, accompanied by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., gestures during a Capitol Hill news conference to respond to President Bush's earlier news conference Monday, Dec. 19, 2005 where the president said he approved domestic spying on suspected terrorists without court orders. 'Where does he find in the Constitution the authority to tap the wires and the phones of American citizens without any court oversight?' said Levin.
US Sen. Carl Levin, right, accompanied by Sen. Russ Feingold, gestures during a Capitol Hill news conference to respond to President Bush's earlier news conference Monday, Dec. 19, 2005 where the president said he approved domestic spying on suspected terrorists without court orders. 'Where does he find in the Constitution the authority to tap the wires and the phones of American citizens without any court oversight?' said Levin. [AP]

"I believe in a strong, robust executive authority and I think that the world we live in demands it," Cheney said.

"I would argue that the actions that we've taken there are totally appropriate and consistent with the constitutional authority of the president. ... You know, it's not an accident that we haven't been hit in four years," the vice president said, speaking with reporters on Air Force Two en route from Pakistan to Oman.

On Capitol Hill, senators from both parties said the role of Congress cannot be sidelined 錕斤拷 even in wartime.

"I think the vice president ought to reread the Constitution," said Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Democrats said they were deeply troubled by the surveillance program, and contended the president had no authority to approve it. "He has no legal basis for spying on Americans without court approval," said Sen. Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.

Republicans said Congress must investigate whether Bush was within the law to allow the super-secret National Security Agency to eavesdrop 錕斤拷 without warrants 錕斤拷 on international calls and e-mails of Americans and others inside the United States with suspected ties to al-Qaida.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, (R) with his wife Lynne Cheney, wave before leaving Pakistan at military base in Rawalpindi December 20, 2005.
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, (R) with his wife Lynne Cheney, wave before leaving Pakistan at military base in Rawalpindi December 20, 2005. [Reuters]
"I believe the Congress 錕斤拷 as a coequal branch of government 錕斤拷 must immediately and expeditiously review the use of this practice," said Sen. Olympia Snowe.

Snowe joined three other members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, including Nebraska Republican Chuck Hagel, in calling for a joint inquiry by the Senate judiciary and intelligence committees.

The administration defends the program, saying Congress gave Bush the authority to use "signals intelligence" 錕斤拷 wiretaps, for example 錕斤拷 to eavesdrop on international calls between U.S. citizens and foreigners when one of them is a suspected al-Qaida member or supporter.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales cites the Authorization to Use Military Force law, which Congress passed and Bush signed a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The administration believes that law lets the government avoid provisions of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The surveillance act was passed after public outcry over abuses during the Nixon administration, which spied on anti-war and civil rights protesters. Under the act, known as FISA, an 11-member court oversees government applications for secret surveillance or searches of foreigners and U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism or espionage.

"I'm not a lawyer, but in my reading, it is pretty conclusive, very conclusive, that FISA prohibits all warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans in America," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Sen. Joe Lieberman asked: "Why didn't the administration feel that it could go to the FISA court to get the warrant?"
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