By BRIAN KNOWLTON, International Herald Tribune WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 - The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed new doubts today about President Bush's domestic surveillance program, even mentioning impeachment as one of several potential remedies, should the president be found to have violated the law. ...Criminal prosecution was another possibility, he said, while the most likely outcome was simply that Mr. Bush might pay a political cost among those who believed Americans' right to privacy was being infringed. But the fact that a senior Republican - let alone the Judiciary Committee chairman -- would even mention the possibility of a president of his own party being impeached was striking, appearing to underscore Mr. Specter's deep unhappiness over the program. ...The New York Times reported last month that after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush had empowered the National Security Agency to bypass a special court established by Congress to handle sensitive intelligence matters and to electronically eavesdrop on people in the United States believed to be communicating with terror suspects abroad. Senator Specter initially raised strong objections after the Times's account was published in December, questioning Bush administration arguments that the special court moved too slowly at times when security officials were seeking to prevent potentially disastrous attacks. Mr. Bush and other administration officials have asserted that a Congressional resolution passed after Sept. 11, authorizing the use of force to combat terrorism, provided legal justification for the surveillance program. ...Last year, Republicans threatened to block his rise to the Judiciary Committee chairmanship after he said that he doubted that a Supreme Court nominee who strongly opposed abortion rights could win confirmation. ...The senator last week questioned the latest of those nominees, Samuel Alito, about his abortion views, but failed to receive the firm statement he sought that Judge Alito would not seek to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing abortion rights. You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/ |