Specter Says Senate to Probe Report US Broke Law on Spying

Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Arlen Specter said the Judiciary Committee he chairs will investigate a report that President George W. Bush authorized spying on American citizens and foreign nationals in the U.S. following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

``That's wrong, clearly and categorically wrong,'' Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said today on the Senate floor. ``This will be a matter for oversight by the Judiciary committee as soon as we can get to it in the new year -- a very, very high priority item.''

The New York Times reported that Bush in 2002 secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop without the court-approved warrants that are required for domestic spying. The international phone calls and e-mail messages of hundreds, possibly thousands, of people have been monitored without warrants to find numbers linked to al-Qaeda, the paper said.

The paper said it interviewed nearly a dozen current and former administration officials about the program and granted them anonymity because the information was classified. The officials said the administration is confident that existing safeguards protect the privacy and civil liberties of Americans, the Times said.