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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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