Agency First Acted on Its Own to Broaden Spying, Files Show (moved from ATSNN), page 1

The New York Times reported that the National Security Agency increased its domestic surveillance program without approval, in the weeks shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

www.nytimes.com[/url ]
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - The National Security Agency acted on its own authority, without a formal directive from President Bush, to expand its domestic surveillance operations in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, according to declassified documents released Tuesday.

The N.S.A. operation prompted questions from a leading Democrat, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, who said in an Oct. 11, 2001, letter to a top intelligence official that she was concerned about the agency's legal authority to expand its domestic operations, the documents showed.

Ms. Pelosi's letter, which was declassified at her request, showed much earlier concerns among lawmakers about the agency's domestic surveillance operations than had been previously known. Similar objections were expressed by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia, in a secret letter to Vice President Dick Cheney nearly two years later.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

O.k., this sounds like a way to deflect attention from President Bush. By saying that the NSA conducted this surveillance, it can only help Bush.

[edit on 1/4/06 by FredT]