Bush Administration Handed Subpoena in Wiretapping Controversy

US President George Bush and his administration have been issued with subpoenas for the allegations that they were wiretapping the conversations of US citizens illegally, reports the Los Angeles Times.

A special Senate committee that had been set up to investigate the wiretapping controversy issued the subpoena. The subpoena was issued yesterday and included the Justice Department, the office of vice president Dick Cheney, and the White House.

According to the report the special Senate committee had requested papers from Bush's administration that are believed to contain information about the wiretapping issue. The request for these papers was repeatedly ignored leading to a subpoena ordering them to be handed over.

President George W. Bush had stood his ground over the wiretapping issue by saying that he was not breaking nay laws. One of the claims against Bush and his administration is that the programme of spying was authorised by them without going through the proper procedure of getting the necessary warrants to carry out the wiretapping.

It is believed that the Bush adminstration would attempt to find a way to avoid handing over the papers even though the subpoenas had been issued. The programme, which allowed spying to occur on US soil was put into effect a short time after the 9/11 tragedy. The programme was supposed to be a way for the NSA to combat future terrorism attacks by tracking emails and phone calls going overseas, of anyone the government suspected had terrorist ties.

The Bush administration claims that the powers given to him in wartime meant that he was allowed to authorise the wiretapping without following the warrant route and thus breaking no laws.

Many of those speaking out against the President's actions are saying that the spying programme, which first became public in 1995, was a crime against the civil liberties of the American people.

By obtaining the papers relating to the spying programme the Senate committee hopes to find out what discussions went on within the adminstration about it. They specifically want to see what was said about the legal issues surrounding the programme.

The chairman of the Senate committee investigating the wiretapping, Patrick Leahy, said, "Our attempts to obtain information through testimony of administration witnesses have been met with a consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection. There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this committee". (BBC)

The Senate committee, which is Democrat run, has given a deadline of July 18 for the Bush adminstration to hand over the requested papers.

In response to the subpoena a white house spokesperson, Tony Fratto, said, "We're aware of the committee's action and will respond appropriately. It's unfortunate that congressional Democrats continue to choose the route of confrontation." (LA Times)

Sources
Los Angeles Times Bush administration subpoena
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-wiretap28jun28,1,744235.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&track=crosspromo

BBC report on the wiretapping subpoena
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6247404.stm