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WYDEN DEMANDS INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE
FULLY INVESTIGATE NSA DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE
January 27, 2006
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.),
a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today
released the following statement regarding the delays in the Intelligence
Committee’s efforts to investigate the NSA domestic wiretapping
program:
“The job of a congressional committee is
to provide oversight, which is why it is vital that the Intelligence
Committee investigate the NSA domestic surveillance program –
it is our job. The committee has a responsibility to get the full
story about this program and determine if the Administration in
fact broke the law.
“While the investigation by the Judiciary Committee will
examine the legal and constitutional issues about the program,
the Intelligence Committee is the only committee that has the
capability to find out, in detail, what actually happened.
“I share the concerns of millions of Americans about whether
this program crosses the line between protecting our nation and
spying indiscriminately on law-abiding Americans.
“It is critical that the intelligence community has the
necessary tools they need to protect our country, but that need
doesn't mean the President and the Administration possess unlimited
authority to invent new interpretations of the law or simply break
the law anytime they choose. It is time for the committee leadership
to step up and allow the Intelligence Committee to do its job.”
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