Detroit – The Bush administration argued in U.S. District Court on Monday that it cannot defend itself against accusations that a domestic spying program is illegal and unconstitutional because details of the program would be revealed, rendering it ineffective and jeopardizing national security.
“The president has decided that the program is necessary to protect and defend the United States of America against a terrorist attack by the al-Qaeda network, which has already killed thousands of Americans,” Anthony Coppolino, a lawyer for the Department of Justice, said in the nation’s first court hearing on the spying program.
“Without evidence that goes to the heart of the matter, the president’s claims cannot be addressed.”
The domestic surveillance program – in which the National Security Agency taps calls between the U.S. and other countries – is being challenged by a host of lawyers, academicians, journalists and advocates for civil liberties. They all asked U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor to order a halt to the spying.
The case is one of a few – and the first in which the government has made an argument – that could determine how much power the president has to conduct domestic spying without obtaining prior approval.
Diggs Taylor heard arguments for and against so-called summary judgment Monday without issuing a decision or saying when she might. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for July 10. That hearing will concern the government’s motion to dismiss the case based on its privilege against revealing military or state secrets if doing so threatens national security.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs argued that the Bush administration’s position about state secrets is of little relevance to the suit.
“The issue in this case is simply whether the National Security Administration is violating the law and the Constitution in eavesdropping on the telephone calls of Americans without a warrant,” said Ann Beeson, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. “… And the government has admitted that the NSA is eavesdropping and not obtaining a warrant.”
The statute the Bush administration admits violating, Beeson said, offers all the power the government needs to spy on terrorists, or others, in the U.S. The Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act provides the mechanism for domestic spying with a warrant authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Diggs Taylor asked Beeson only one question, related to whether the plaintiffs have “standing” to bring the suit. To sue, plaintiffs must show that they are both affected and harmed by the activity at issue.
