Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, released a statement on the inspector generals’ report on President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program:
This report, mandated by Congress last year, documents what many of us in Congress concluded long ago: President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program was illegal from the beginning, and of questionable value. It clearly violated FISA and was based on legal analysis that was ‘factually flawed.’
All the recommendations of the report should be promptly followed, and we in Congress will continue to carefully review today’s surveillance activities to determine if further changes to FISA are appropriate. The refusal of key Bush Administration officials such as David Addington and John Yoo to cooperate with the IGs’ review underscores the need for an independent commission with subpoena power to further review these issues, as I have called for.
As new controversies about the prior Administration’s secret intelligence activities and the accuracy and completeness of intelligence briefings to Congress arise, this report offers a stark warning of the risks of executive branch overreach and the power of the executive to shield its activities from scrutiny. At the same time, this report reminds us of the many heroes of the past Administration who questioned these and other secret programs and stood up for the rule of law.
