Two key Democrats [Jane Harman and Tom Daschle] yesterday called the NSA domestic surveillance program necessary for fighting terrorism but questioned whether President Bush had the legal authority to order it done without getting congressional approval.In short the Democrats are like sooo down with all this snooping -- they just want to get in on the fun.[Republican senator Pat] Roberts said he could not remember Democrats raising questions about the program during briefings that, beginning in 2002, were given to the "Gang of Eight." That group was made up of the House speaker and minority leader, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and the chairmen and ranking Democrats of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Harman said the briefings she received concerned "the operational details of the program," which she supported. "However," she added, "the briefings were not about the legal underpinnings of the program."
Daschle said he wants the program to continue but maintained that the warrantless wiretapping of calls.. violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Harman [said] "We're only 36 members total that we're talking about, and those members should decide whether this program fits within the law, and if it does, which I think it does, we should all declare victory. "
