WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union Thursday called for an independent probe into the NSA's warrantless surveillance program.
The ACLU said in a statement that it was making its call for a new special prosecutor to be appointed "following reports by the National Journal that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales advised President Bush to shut down an internal review of the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program due to the possibility that his own actions would be scrutinized."
"If these reports are true, they raise serious questions about the attorney general's willingness to place himself and his actions above the law and above rebuke," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU's Washington legislative office.
"In America, no one is above the law. And, no one -- certainly not the attorney general -- should interfere with an investigation into whether laws have been broken and the Constitution subverted," Frederickson said.
"The decision to suspend the investigation was unprecedented," she said. "The Office of Professional Responsibility's top lawyer said that office has never before been prevented from investigating, even when dealing with highly classified information.
"This latest revelation shows again why the attorney general must appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the program," Frederickson said. "The American people and the Constitution deserve an independent investigator who can, and will, get to the truth.
"We urge Congress to stand for the Constitution and conduct vigorous oversight on this issue," she said.
