Conyers and Nadler Ask Gonzales Some Questions

Jesse Lee at The Gavel reports: Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urgently requesting answers to specific questions as well as greater access to information on the NSA’s domestic wiretapping program, in light of new revelations from Deputy Attorney General James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The letter (full text at link) asks for responses to the following questions: 1) Is Mr. Comey’s testimony about the events of March, 2004 as provided this week to the Senate Judiciary Committee accurate and, if not, please explain your version of what happened 2) Was the classified program referred to by Mr. Comey the Terrorist Surveillance Program, as it existed prior to the changes made according to the Justice Department’s recommendations and, if not, what was the classified program that Mr. Comey was referring to? 3) Who was involved in deciding to seek approval from Attorney General Ashcroft from his hospital bed and who made the telephone call to arrange your visit to his bedside 4) What was the basis for the Administration’s decision on March 10-11 to continue with the program despite the Department’s objections, how long did it so continue. Please provide copies of any legal or other memoranda on the subject 5) What was the basis for the Department’s objections to the program. Please provide copies of any Office of Legal Counsel or other documents relating to those objections 6) What changes were made to the program to resolve the Department’s objections?