Letter: To Glenn A. Fine, US Inspector General
Dear Inspector General Fine:
Thank you for your letter on November 27, 2006 informing us that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has opened a review of the Department of Justice's involvement with the NSA warrantless surveillance program. Your letter stated that the program review, "will examine the Department's controls and use of information related to the program and the Department's compliance with legal requirements governing the program." We believe it is also important to determine how these legal requirements were developed and whether or not they are proper. We hope that the administration's recent announcement that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will be charged with the task of overseeing the NSA surveillance program will not distract from the fact that this investigation is very necessary and important.
More than ever, we are determined to find out the answers about the origins and evolution of the program. Thus, we request that you broaden your investigation to include the following questions:
Did any Justice Department officials, including the Attorney General, violate any constitutional or statutory provisions by authorizing, enforcing and carrying out the NSA warrantless surveillance program?
When did DOJ first authorize the president's request for the NSA to conduct domestic surveillance without warrants? What was the process that led to that authorization?
Did the administration enact the surveillance initiative prior to DOJ's approval? If so, when and how was the program originally implemented?
What is the process for reauthorizing the program and how often does reauthorization occur? What role has DOJ played in each reauthorization, and how has that role differed among reauthorizations?
According to The New York Times, then-Acting Attorney General James Comey objected in 2004 to the reauthorization of the surveillance program. Is this accurate? If so, why did he object?
According to The New York Times, following Comey's refusal to sign off on the reauthorization of the surveillance program, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales visited then-Attorney General John Ashcroft -- for whom Comey was filling in -- in the hospital, as he recovered from surgery, to obtain his reauthorization of the surveillance program. According to The New York Times, Ashcroft may have raised objections to the program, but it is unclear whether he eventually gave his permission. Please describe Ashcroft's role, including whether he reauthorized the program while in the hospital or whether the White House moved forward with the initiative without his approval?
What were DOJ's criticisms and justifications of the monitoring both prior to and after DOJ's audit of the program in 2004?
Attorney General Gonzales previously suggested that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was unable to handle the types of situations that the NSA warrantless spying program deals with on a regular basis. Why did the Attorney General change his mind and decide to entrust the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court with the monitoring of this program? Did the Attorney General recently conclude that the program's operation without court approval violated FISA or the Constitution?
It was heartening to learn that your office is conducting an investigation and we are very pleased and grateful to learn you are doing so. In order to ensure the investigation is as complete and comprehensive as necessary, we thank you for your attention to this letter and for your consideration in expanding your investigative efforts. We look forward to hearing from you regarding this request.
Sincerely,
Maurice D. Hinchey, Henry A. Waxman, Lynn C. Woolsey, Jim McDermott, Maxine Waters
http://www.house.gov/list/press/ny22_hinchey/morenews/012507NSAIGprobeexpansionletter.html