Bush Could Be Impeached Over Spying: Senator

[sonz]

WASHINGTON, January 16, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – US President George W. Bush could face impeachment and criminal prosecution if found to have violated law by authorizing eavesdropping, said a top US Republican Senator.

"Impeachment is a remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the principal remedy ... under our society is to pay a political price," Sen. Arlen Specter, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday, January 15, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act makes it illegal to spy on US citizens in the United States without the approval of relevant courts.

Bush admitted in December that he had authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to carry out domestic spying without the necessary court warrants.

"No Blank Check"

The Pennsylvania Republican, however, said that he was speaking theoretically and was "not suggesting remotely that there's any basis" for a presidential impeachment at this moment.

He said that it was too early to draw any conclusions as his committee gears up for public hearings into Bush's domestic spying program next month.

Specter told ABC's "This Week" program that the Senate was not going to give the President what he called "a blank check."

"We're not going to give him a blank check, and just because we're of the same party doesn't mean we're not going to look at this very closely."

The New York Times reported in December that the NSA has "directly" tapped the country’s main communications systems without court-approved warrants.

It further revealed on January 1, that James Comey, a deputy to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, was concerned about the legality of the NSA program and refused to extend it in 2004.

"Not Authorized"

Specter further disagreed that Bush was legally authorized to modify the surveillance act to allow spying on citizens.

"If that's what the administration was relying on, I thought they were wrong," he pointed out.

Bush claimed that he had the right to authorize spying under his constitutional war powers as well as a resolution passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The Republican Senator added that the issue of wartime presidential powers was "a very knotty question" that "ought to be thoroughly examined."

He assured he was prepared to listen to the administration's explanations, but warned, "I'm going to wear my skepticism on my sleeve."

A report by the Congress’s research arm, the first nonpartisan findings on the program to date, said in December that Bush violated existing laws by authorizing warrantless eavesdropping on Americans and his justification depended on weak legal argument.

It said the broad presidential powers granted to the US president in the wake of the 9/11 attacks did not authorize him to order the secret monitoring of calls made by US citizens, but authorized him to use military force when necessary to protect homeland security.