(continued)
Senate Judiciary chairman Patrick Leahy called the hearing to review some of the Bush administration's recent actions that have
raised concerns among civil libertarians, such as detaining over a thousand suspects, and the creation of secret military tribunals to
try suspected terrorists.
Leahy said in his opening remarks: "Whether any or all of these ideas are popular or unpopular at the moment, as an oversight
committee, we accept our duty to examine them."
The anti-terrorism law that President Bush signed last month amended the Cable TV Privacy Act and Title 18, Section 2703 of the
U.S. Code's title 18 to faciliate greater eavesdropping.
It also made it easier for government agencies to share information with each other, Chertoff said: "We have used it to start the
process of sharing information between the intelligence side and the law enforcement side."
Attorney General John Ashcroft has said the FBI began using the powers mere hours after President Bush signed the law. The Justice
Department has prepared a "field guidance" manual (PDF) for prosecutors.
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the senior Republican on the committee, said he thought the Bush administration was responding
appropriately to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"The administration can take these positions," Hatch said. "They have to justify them, but they can take them, and I think there's
more than enough information here to justify the positions they've taken."
The Department of Defense has been responsible for drafting the guidelines for the military tribunal, but can ask the Department of
Justice for assistance. "The Department of Defense can ask us for help," Chertoff said.
Leahy replied: "I hope you wouldn't wait for an invitation. Pick up the phone and call them."
Attorney General Ashcroft was invited to speak at this hearing but declined to attend, and instead is scheduled to appear at a hearing
on Dec. 6.