Gonzales hints at wider surveillance
WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told a House committee Thursday the president could order warrantless wiretaps of domestic communications.
Gonzales said the government would have to determine that a conversation involved terrorism before listening in, the Washington Post reported.
"I'm not going to rule it out," Gonzales said, responding to a question from Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on the extent of the president's power to order monitoring of communications that are entirely within the United States.
In the past, President George W. Bush, Gonzales and others in the administration have emphasized that monitoring by the National Security Agency ordered after Sept. 11, 2001, has involved only communications where at least one party was outside the country.
Gonzales, in his testimony, hinted there may be other surveillance programs that remain secret. He was talking about reports of disputes within the administration.
"They did not relate to the program the president disclosed," Gonzales said. "They related to something else and I can't get into that."
N.Y. Rep.: Bush may have committed crime
WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- A member of Congress says President George W. Bush may have committed a crime if he authorized the leak of classified information to a reporter.
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney -- reportedly told a federal grand jury he gave New York Times reporter Judith Miller information from a National Intelligence Estimate. In a filing made Wednesday by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, Libby said Cheney told him the president "specifically" authorized the leak.
Libby testified Cheney told him to talk to other reporters as well. Libby is accused of obstructing Fitzgerald's investigation into who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to reporters and lying to federal investigators.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., said Thursday if Libby's testimony is true, the case goes "much deeper" than the CIA leak.
"The heart and motive of this case is about the deliberate attempt at the highest levels of this administration to discredit those who were publicly revealing that the White House lied about its uranium claims leading up to the war," said Hinchey on his Web site.
Hinchey said Bush may have "knowingly lied about uranium to the Congress, which is a crime."
Texas Democrat: DeLay should resign
SUGAR LAND, Texas, April 6 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas, has called on Tom DeLay to resign from Congress immediately and for Texas Gov. Rick Perry to call a special election.
"Tom DeLay lost this race," Lampson said in a news release. "Now, it's time for him to move on."
DeLay was forced to step down as House Majority Leader when he was indicted in connection with alleged money laundering of campaign funds. He announced earlier this week that he would not seek another term and would resign before the election.
Perry, a Republican, said that unless DeLay resigns by Friday the election to fill the remainder of his term will be held in November, on the same day that voters chose his successor, the Houston Chronicle reported. If DeLay does step down by Friday, Perry would schedule the special election for May 13.
A Lampson news conference ended in disarray Thursday after several DeLay supporters showed up and clashed with Democratic supporters of Lampson.
McKinney apologizes for role in scuffle
WASHINGTON, April 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., apologized to a partially filled House chamber for her role in a scuffle with a Capitol Police officer last week.
"I am sorry this misunderstanding happened at all and I regret its escalation and I apologize," McKinney said Thursday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
To demonstrate what she called her "gratitude and appreciation" for Capitol police, McKinney said she would vote for a House GOP resolution praising police.
The resolution was intended to symbolically chastise McKinney for allegedly striking an officer who tried to stop her from going around a security checkpoint.
A federal prosecutor in Washington has turned the matter over to a grand jury to determine whether charges should be filed against McKinney. The charges could range from assault on a police officer, a felony, to simple assault, a misdemeanor. It is also possible no charges will be filed.
