WIRETAP BACKTRACK

Facing congressional investigations and legal challenges, the Bush administration last week reversed course and said it would seek the approval of a secret court before monitoring Americans’ international communications as part of its terrorism surveillance work. Bringing the eavesdropping program back under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is the right thing to do, but it does not negate the need for continued scrutiny from Congress, which the Senate Judiciary Committee reiterated Thursday with tough questions for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Unfortunately, Mr. Gonzales did not answer most questions. Particularly troublesome, the attorney general is refusing to allow the court to reveal details of the arrangement worked out with the administration. The court’s presiding judge said she would detail its orders to lawmakers if allowed to do so by the Bush administration. Mr. Gonzales said the administration wanted to keep details of the wiretapping operation confidential.

The committee is right not to take the administration’s word that the program, even under court review, is within the president’s authority and meets constitutional requirements. It heard the same assurances about the torture of suspected terrorists and detaining such suspects without access to judicial proceedings. The administration has since backed off both these stances due to adverse court rulings and belated intervention from Congress.

In December 2005, it was revealed that the National Security Agency was eavesdropping on phone calls and e-mails between the United States and other countries without warrants. The Bush administration said Congress told the president to use “all necessary and appropriate force” to stop terrorists when it passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Several senators, including Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, say it wasn’t their intention in voting for the resolution to give the president the authority to bypass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The administration said the FISA process was too slow and cumbersome.

With the Democratic takeover of Congress, it has changed its mind. The Justice Department this week said it had recently received several warrants from the court allowing it to monitor communications where there was probable cause to believe one of the participants had terrorist links. With the orders in hand, future eavesdropping would be conducted with the approval of the FISA court, Attorney General Gonzales said.

Without knowing details, such as whether warrants are issued on a blanket basis, lawmakers must continue to scrutinize the program to ensure American’s privacy is protected.