Negotiations are under way between the White House and congressional leaders to pass legislation that will provide a pseudo-legal sanction for the Bush administration’s domestic spying program. Meanwhile, the administration and Congress are working to ensure that whatever investigations into the program are carried out, they will be nothing more than whitewashes for what is a vast expansion of the intelligence powers of the US government.
Among the various proposals that are being put forward in the Senate and House, no major figure in either political party is calling for an end to the National Security Agency program, the existence of which was first revealed in December. Rather, the discussion is over what mechanism would be best suited to give it a greater legal sanction. The acceptance that the program is necessary and must continue comes in spite of the fact that the White House has refused to reveal any details about what exactly the program is and what information is being collected.