Senate panel to look into reports of wiretapping violations

April 17, 2009|Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said yesterday that the panel would hold a hearing to get to the bottom of reports that the National Security Agency improperly tapped into the domestic communications of American citizens.

"We will make sure we get the facts," said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California.

The House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees learned of the problem in late February from the Justice Department, a congressional official said yesterday. The committees have since had multiple private briefings on the NSA transgressions.

The Justice Department confirmed Wednesday that it had reined in the NSA's wiretapping activities in the United States after learning that the agency had improperly accessed American phone calls and e-mails while eavesdropping on foreign communications.

Justice officials discovered the problems during a routine review of NSA wiretapping. The government's action was first divulged Wednesday by The New York Times.

The Senate hearing will be closed to the public. It will delve into questions raised by The New York Times story that have not been covered in closed-door informal briefings, a committee official said.

The official would not say what those issues are.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the NSA program is classified.