Senate panel endorses Hayden as CIA director - Yahoo! News

Senate panel endorses Hayden as CIA director - Yahoo! News:

"The three dissenting committee votes came from Democratic senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, all of whom cited misgivings that
President George W. Bush's National Security Agency eavesdropping program might infringe on civil liberties.

Hayden crafted and implemented the program as NSA director after the September 11 attacks. It allows the agency to monitor the international phone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens without first obtaining warrants, while pursuing al Qaeda suspects.

DEMOCRATS' CONCERNS

Lawmakers fear the NSA program could overstep Bush's constitutional authority (read: Bush has broken the law - ED.) and violate a 1978 law that requires court warrants for all eavesdropping inside the United States.

Some senators had suggested the eavesdropping program could be a hurdle for Hayden, currently Negroponte's chief deputy. But the committee's approval of his nomination came after the White House allowed the full Senate and House intelligence committees to begin overseeing the program.

The White House previously had sought to limit the number of lawmakers briefed on the domestic eavesdropping operations.

Wyden told reporters he voted against Hayden to 'break the cycle' of Bush administration counterterrorism initiatives that he believes threaten civil liberties unnecessarily.

'I don't want to see repeated at the CIA what happened at NSA and I wasn't satisfied with his answers,' Wyden said.

Added Feingold: 'I am not convinced that the nominee respects the rule of law and Congress's oversight responsibilities.'

Bayh, viewed as a possible presidential candidate for 2008, said his vote was in protest against what he called the administration's unwillingness to safeguard civil liberties while pursuing the program."