Alberto Gonzales
DOJ Won’t Release Wiretapping Opinion
Posted Jun 8, 2007, 10:17 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Two congressional Democrats have threatened to subpoena Justice Department documents related to the government’s domestic wiretapping program.
Steven Bradbury, who heads DOJ’s office of legal counsel, told a House Judiciary subcommittee yesterday that the documents would not be released because they are confidential.
The documents are being sought by U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., according to the New York Times. The congressmen wrote Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on May 17 asking for the documents. They seek legal opinions that supported the wiretapping program and 2004 documents by Justice officials questioning its legality.
The move comes following testimony that Alberto Gonzales was among White House officials who rushed to the hospital in March 2004 where then-Attorney General John Ashcroft was recovering from surgery to seek approval for the program.