A Letter from a Member of Congress

efsaturn was kind enough to allow me to post this letter from a member of Congress that was received in response to an impeachment inquiry. I thought that it would be interesting to see what he had to say, while waiting for my never ending post to finish itself. Thanks, efsaturn.



Dear Ms (removed):

Thank you for contacting me about the job performance of President George W. Bush in regards to his authorization of a National Security Agency (NSA) secret domestic spying program on persons within the United States. I appreciate hearing from you.

First, I am equally outraged by the Bush Administration implementing this program possibly without the proper consent from Congress and also in possible violation of American citizens' right to privacy. I support a thorough, bipartisan investigation of this alarming policy. One way or another, we must get to the bottom of this situation and insist the president follows the law.

My foremost concern is that this policy appears to be in violation of existing law. We simply cannot allow the executive branch of our government, unchecked, to be the sole arbiter of the limits of its own power. We all deserve a president who follows the law, not a king who disobeys it. While I support efforts of the U.S. government in fighting terrorism, and acknowledge our involvement in a number of foreign conflicts, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, we cannot succumb to actions that infringe upon the constitutional rights of American citizens.

As Ben Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

With the current makeup of Congress, it is obvious impeachment would not pass, so we should also consider the real impact of filing articles. It may come to that as our only option, but I think it important for us to demonstrate responsibility in the use of that constitutional process. To that end, I believe we must have comprehensive, probing hearings and then make the determination whether that is the right response. Our actions will win greater acceptance by the American people if we follow that route.

I support a full congressional investigation of this matter, as suggested by many members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. You will be pleased to know that I joined many of my colleagues in sending a letter to President Bush expressing our position that the administration's policy has violated the U.S. Constitution and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and was not authorized when Congress voted to support the September 18, 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. Our letter requests that the president release documents to Congress regarding the nature of this secret program. We need access to the legal opinions the administration used pertaining to the lawfulness of the surveillance program; the specific orders authorizing and reauthorizing this program; the number of U.S. persons that this surveillance was authorized for use on; the number of U.S. persons whose communications were intercepted; the total number of intercepted communications since the start of this surveillance program; the records of any member of the press whose communications have been intercepted; information about how the information intercepted has been stored and shared with other government agencies, and whether this information will be destroyed.

In addition, I have cosponsored H.RES.643, a resolution of inquiry which directs the Attorney General to submit to the House of Representatives all documents in his possession relating to warrantless electronic surveillance of telephone conversations and electronic communications of persons in the U.S. conducted by the National Security Agency. This type of resolution is unique because it is required that the full committee review a vote within 14 legislative days. If the committee fails to act within this time period, the bill can be brought before the entire House for a vote. This is one of the only legislative procedures available to Congress to get information from the executive branch.

I also joined my colleagues in sending to the Acting Inspector General at the Department of Defense, the Inspector General at the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Comptroller General calling for immediate investigations of reports that the Attorney General authorized the NSA to conduct the warrantless domestic spying program of persons inside the U.S. We cite a specific violation of Section 1802(a) of FISA, which permits the surveillance of communications without a court order only if the Attorney General can certify that either the communications are solely between foreign powers, or there is no substantial likelihood that the surveillance will acquire the contents of any communications to which a U.S. person is a party. We find that the NSA has violated these prohibitions on at least 500 individuals within the U.S.

In response to our letter, the Inspector General wrote that the issue falls outside the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, and that the matter would fall instead under the jurisdiction of the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility. However, he is wrong and and we have told him so, demanding an investigation.

We have been down this road before, FISA was passed by Congress in 1978 in response to the Nixon Administration's policy of conducting surveillance on citizens participating in political groups, or suspected of having certain political persuasions. FISA prescribes procedures for requesting judicial authorization for electronic surveillance and physical search of persons engaged in espionage or international terrorism against the United States on behalf of a foreign power. This law helped create a framework for the use of electronic surveillance and other investigative methods to acquire foreign intelligence information, and requires a showing of probable cause to believe that the target is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power before searches and surveillance can be conducted.

One of the provisions of FISA requires the Office of the Attorney General to submit an annual report to Congress disclosing information about applications made to the FISA Court, and the number of applications approved and modified by the Court. In both 2002 and 2004, the Court approved all applications submitted. In 2003, of the 1,727 applications made, all but three were approved. I have many questions as to why the Bush Administration chose to bypass the process set up by FISA, since past administrations have not encountered difficulty obtaining FISA warrants, and such warrants can be obtained up to 72 hours after the surveillance is collected.

Furthermore, I do not find the September 18, 2001 authorization for use of military force passed by Congress to include any sort of authorization for warrantless domestic spying. You may be interested to know that in a recent review by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Bush Administration's claims that its warrantless activities were sanctioned by this authorization for military force, CRS found that it is doubtful that the president can claim that the authorization passed by Congress grants him the broad powers that he has claimed exist. This report defers to FISA, being the latest congressional legislation addressing domestic surveillance.

I believe that Congress can protect our national security interests, while at the same time protecting civil liberties. You can count on me to continue fighting to protect the constitutional rights of my constituents and my fellow Americans.

Please continue to contact me about the issues that concern you, as I both need and welcome your thoughts and ideas. As a service to my constituents, I maintain a website which contains valuable resources and information on Congressional activities. Please feel free to visit the website at http://www.house.gov/inslee for information on recent issues and to learn more about the services my office provides.

I encourage you to contact me via email, telephone, or fax, because security measures are causing House offices to experience delays in receiving postal mail. My email address is: Jay.Inslee@mail.house.gov. Please be sure to include your full name and address, including your zip code, in your message.

Very truly yours,

JAY INSLEE
Member of Congress



JRI/ch

Confirmation # 2020667