Ex-President Carter: Eavesdropping
Illegal
ABC News
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
February 6, 2006
HENDERSON, Nev. Feb 6, 2006 (AP)— Former President Jimmy Carter
criticized the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program Monday and
said he believes the president has broken the law.
"Under the Bush administration, there's been a disgraceful and illegal
decision we're not going to the let the judges or the Congress or anyone else
know that we're spying on the American people," Carter told reporters. "And no
one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under
this secret act."
Carter made the remarks at a union hall near Las Vegas, where his oldest
son, Jack Carter, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
The former president also rebuked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for
telling Congress that the spying program is authorized under Article 2 of the
Constitution and does not violate the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act passed during Carter's administration. Gonzales made the assertions in
testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which began investigating the
eavesdropping program Monday.
"It's a ridiculous argument, not only bad, it's ridiculous. Obviously, the
attorney general who said it's all right to torture prisoners and so forth is
going to support the person who put him in office. But he's a very partisan
attorney general and there's no doubt that he would say that," Carter said. "I
hope that eventually the case will go to the Supreme Court. I have no doubt
that when it's over, the Supreme Court will rule that Bush has violated the
law."
The former president said he would testify before the Judiciary Committee if
asked.
"If my voice is important to point of the intent of the law that was passed
when I was president, I know all about that because it was one of the most
important decisions I had to make."
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