Republican Speaks Up, Leading Others to Challenge Wiretaps

When Representative Heather A. Wilson broke ranks with President Bush on Tuesday to declare her "serious concerns" about domestic eavesdropping, she gave voice to what some fellow Republicans were thinking, if not saying.

Attention in N.S.A. Debate Turns to Telecom Industry (February 11, 2006) Now they are speaking up — and growing louder.

In interviews over several days, Congressional Republicans have expressed growing doubts about the National Security Agency program to intercept international communications inside the United States without court warrants. A growing number of Republicans say the program appears to violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the 1978 law that created a court to oversee such surveillance, and are calling for revamping the FISA law.

Ms. Wilson and at least six other Republican lawmakers are openly skeptical about Mr. Bush's assertion that he has the inherent authority to order the wiretaps and that Congress gave him the power to do so when it authorized him to use military force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The White House, in a turnabout, briefed the full House and Senate Intelligence Committee on the program this week, after Ms. Wilson, chairwoman of the subcommittee that oversees the N.S.A., had called for a full-scale Congressional investigation. But some Republicans say that is not enough.

The rest of the story.

NSA Employee Reveals Himself As Whistleblower Who Reported "Illegal" Domestic Spying

Russell Tice, a longtime employee at the National Security Agency, has revealed himself to be the whistleblower the agency wants to keep quiet. Tice told the New York Times about abuses at the NSA and forced the President to reveal what many consider to be illegal activity.

I don't know about you guys but I have serious reservations about this administration's domestic spying program. The simple task of asking a court for permission, even if after the fact, seems to be a simple step, this administration avoids, that might protect us from government abuses.

President Bush has admitted that he gave orders that allowed the NSA to eavesdrop on a small number of Americans without the usual requisite warrants.

Tice disagrees. He says the number of Americans subject to eavesdropping by the NSA could be in the millions.

I sure hope the feds leave Mr. Tice alone. The story seems to indicate they are already doing a number on him, questioning his mental stability. That sort of thing was common in the old Soviet Union and has no place in the USA.

Next thing we will hear is that an IRS audit in the works. Nothing surprises me anymore with this administration.

I applaud Mr. Tice for coming forward and hope improvements can be made. We will monitor how this government continues to treat Mr. Tice. I hope you do the same.

The full story from ABC News.