Lofgren Says President Wrong to Block NSA Investigation

Media Contact: Kyra Jennings, 202.225.3072, kyra.jennings@mail.house.gov

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) offered the following response to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s testimony today that President Bush personally blocked Justice Department lawyers in the Office of Professional Responsibility from pursuing an internal probe of the warrantless domestic surveillance program:

“I am shocked that it was the President himself who blocked investigations into the domestic surveillance program he put into place. The President’s latest actions shows that he is willing to be personally involved in the cover up of suspected illegal activity at the NSA and leads me to question even more what he is hiding. It is clear from this action that President Bush believes his executive power overrides law.”

In December 2005, Rep. Lofgren led Members of Congress in calling for the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Justice to investigate the NSA warrentless domestic surveillance program. The Justice Department’s IG refused and referred the investigation to their Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). This May, Rep. Lofgren was informed by the Department of Justice that their OPR could not investigate because they were unable to acquire security clearances.