Bush's Various Rationales for Secret NSA Order Confuse the Issue
President Bush said yesterday that he didn't seek congressional approval for a warrantless domestic eavesdropping program for one simple reason: He didn't need it. It is one of several explanations on the topic from Bush and his aides, who have provided at least two separate rationales for why they did not ask for statutory authority for the program. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said the administration had considered seeking legislation but determined it would be impossible to get, adding later in the same news conference that authorities did not want to expose the program's existence.
Varied Rationales Muddle Issue of NSA Eavesdropping, Washington Post, January 27, 2006.
