Senator Leahy's Statement on the Domestic Surveillance Program Court Decision

08/17/2006

Reaction Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Ranking Democratic Member, Senate Judiciary Committee,
To The U.S. District Court Decision
Finding The Warrantless Domestic Surveillance Program
To Be Illegal And Unconstitutional
Milton, Vermont
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2006

“This has become another unfortunate example of how White House misdirection, arrogance and mismanagement have needlessly complicated our goal of protecting the American people.  I have always believed that the Bush-Cheney warrantless domestic spying program violated our laws.  We can and should wiretap terrorists under the current FISA law.  The problem has been the Bush-Cheney Administration’s insistence on doing it illegally, without checks and balances to prevent abusing the rights of Americans.  By following the Constitution and our laws, we can protect both our security and our American values.”