LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- President Bush gave the nod Wednesday to congressional hearings on his highly secret program of warrantless wiretaps of terror suspects.
The hearings, said, he "would be good for democracy" as long as information that could aid the enemy was not disclosed.
"Just so long as the hearings, as they explore whether or not I had the prerogative to make the decisions I made, doesn't tell the enemy what we're doing. See, that's the danger," he said.
Bush made the comments during a town hall meeting in Kentucky.
Both the House and the Senate plan hearings on the administration's wiretap program initiated by executive order in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
Under the program, which is periodically reviewed, emails and telephonic communications between persons in the United States and a party abroad can be monitored if a link to terrorism is suspected. The administration argues that the responsibilities of a president during war and congressional mandate permits the wiretaps, which the administration has undertaken without prior court warrants because of the urgency and fleeting nature of terrorist communications.
Democrats and civil libertarians have attacked the approach, although President Bill Clinton and others before him held similar views on the legality of the practice when it comes to combating terrorism.
Recent polling indicates fluid public opinion, dependant on the question asked and the way it is asked.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll of 1,001 adults taken Jan. 5-8, showed 65 percent believed it was more important to investigate terrorist threats even if some personal liberties were intruded upon. Thirty-two percent said no. But when asked if administration policy on non-court approved wiretaps was acceptable, the results were 51 percent in favor and 47 against.
A CBS News poll of 2,006 people indicated 68 percent of respondents were against wiretaps of ordinary Americans -- but 69 percent in favor of wiretaps of terror suspects.
