Arlen Specter: “let me agree with Senators who have spoken out very sharply in opposition to the disclosures in the press this morning…”

“let me agree with Senators who have spoken out very sharply in opposition to the disclosures in the press this morning about ``President Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts.'' That is wrong, clearly and categorically wrong. If you read some of the fine print, there are some indications that there were some level heads within the executive branch. If you get down into the fine print--it takes a lot of reading beyond page 1 and the other headlines--this appears: [I]n mid-2004, concerns about the program expressed by national security officials, government lawyers and a judge prompted the Bush administration to suspend elements of the program and revamp it. Later the article says: Several national security officials say the powers granted the N.S.A. by President Bush go far beyond the expanded counterterrorism powers granted by Congress under the USA PATRIOT Act. . . . There is no doubt that this is inappropriate. The chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court stepped in and said: Don't provide this court with any information you got this way to get a warrant. Just don't do it. So if you read the fine print, there were some parts of the system which were working. But it is inexcusable to have spying on people in the United States without court surveillance in violation of our law, beyond any question.…”