Jay Rockefeller: “the National Security Agency has been wiretapping the conversations of Americans without obtaining court orders, as…”

“the National Security Agency has been wiretapping the conversations of Americans without obtaining court orders, as required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, for the past 5 years. In recent months, a number of bills have been proposed which would codify the President's program of warrantless surveillance. The White House is now pushing the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass sweeping legislation that would amend FISA and grant the President unprecedented authority to undertake wiretapping in the United States without the judicial scrutiny currently required by law. For Congress to legislate on this program in the coming days would not only be premature but irresponsible. The fact remains that despite repeated assurances from the administration, Members of Congress remain in the dark and cannot answer fundamental questions about the program's existence, effectiveness or legal justification. As one of the few Members who have received the most detailed information to date. I can tell you that, putting aside the legal argument, the administration has not been able to document convincingly the counterterrorism benefits of the program.…”