ANTI-SPYING: IT'S NOT JUST FOR LIBERALS

Lawmakers Call for Domestic Spying Probe
By HOPE YEN Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON Dec 18, 2005 — Democrats and Republicans called separately Sunday for congressional investigations into President Bush's decision after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to allow domestic eavesdropping without court approval.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he intends to hold hearings. "They talk about constitutional authority," Specter said. "There are limits as to what the president can do." Specter said he wants Bush's advisers to cite their specific legal authority for bypassing the courts.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said there were no objections raised by lawmakers who were told about it. "That's a legitimate part of the equation," McCain said on ABC's "This Week." But he said Bush still needs to explain why he chose to ignore the law that requires approval of a special court for domestic wiretaps.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called that troubling. If Bush is allowed to decide unilaterally who the potential terrorists are, he becomes the court," Graham said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "We are at war, and I applaud the president for being aggressive," said Graham, who also called for a congressional review. "But we cannot set aside the rule of law in a time of war."