WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito Jr. once argued that the attorney general should be legally immune when acting in the name of national security.
He contended that immunity even should extend to actions involving illegal wiretapping of U.S. citizens, The Washington Post said.
Documents released Friday show that Alito, then a lawyer in the Reagan Justice Department, argued that the attorney general should be free to combat terror and espionage without worrying about being taken to court, the Post said.
But even though he contended in a 1984 memo that the attorney general has such authority, Alito urged that it not be used publicly.
The memo's release comes as President Bush is facing criticism for using a secret National Security Agency program to bypass the courts and tap into the overseas telephone calls and e-mail of U.S. citizens with suspected ties to terrorists.
