White House steps up defense of domestic spying

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WASHINGTON — The White House launches a political campaign this week, not for a candidate but for a controversial program: warrantless surveillance of some U.S. citizens by the National Security Agency.

President Bush plans to defend the program in a counterterrorism speech today at Kansas State University, aides said. The speech will kick off a flurry of administration activity leading to Senate hearings scheduled for Feb. 6.

"We are stepping up our efforts to educate the American people about this vital tool in the war on terrorism," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

At the administration appearances, Bush and aides plan to repeat arguments they have made before: This is a limited program that kicks in only when one of the parties is beyond U.S. borders and has some kind of link to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

Just before Bush's speech today in Manhattan, Kan., Gen. Michael Hayden plans to discuss the surveillance program at the National Press Club. Hayden, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, once headed the National Security Agency, which conducts the surveillance.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is scheduled to address the issue in a speech Tuesday, McClellan said. On Wednesday, the president plans to visit the NSA headquarters at Fort Meade in Maryland.

Democrats say they also want to fight terrorism, but some say the once-secret program is unconstitutional because it permits eavesdropping on some U.S. citizens without a court warrant. "No one is above the law," said Josh Earnest, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.

As for legal authority, Bush and his supporters have cited his constitutional power as commander in chief. They have also pointed to the congressional resolution passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that authorized force against the planners.

Some Republicans, including Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., have questioned the program's legality in light of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The act requires warrants from a special secret court when eavesdropping involves Americans. Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, plans to conduct the hearing Feb. 6.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaking on Fox News Sunday, said he doesn't see the legal authority for the program. He suggested the administration sit down with members of Congress to discuss possible changes to the FISA law in light of advances in communication since the law passed in 1978. "Why not come to Congress?" McCain said. "We can sort this all out."

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who lost the presidential election to Bush in 2004, said a special counsel should investigate the program. Appearing Sunday on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Kerry said he welcomes the debate over the Bush policy. "There is a way to protect the Constitution and not go off on your own and violate it," Kerry said.

Some Republicans who attended their party's winter meeting during the weekend said the surveillance program should be an election-year issue. Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, said Friday in a speech, "This is an issue worthy of public debate."

"President Bush believes if al-Qaeda is calling somebody in America, it is in our national security interest to know who they're calling and why," Rove said.

He said later that "Democrats have a pre-9/11 view of the world."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., appearing Sunday on CNN's Late Edition, called Rove's remarks a "cheap shot" designed to take the spotlight off White House "incompetence" over Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and problems with its prescription-drug plan.

He said Democrats would take a back seat to no one in "fighting a tough war on terror. But what Karl Rove is doing is trying to divert attention."