Rice Denies U.S. Broke Law Amid Report Bush Authorized Spying

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=astkV2gMsvUY&refer=us

Rice Denies U.S. Broke Law Amid Report Bush Authorized Spying

Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today defended President George W. Bush against reports he authorized spying on American citizens and foreign nationals in the U.S. following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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.

Rice, interviewed on NBC's ``Today'' show, said ``the president has been very clear that he would not order people to do things that are illegal.'' She declined to comment directly on the New York Times report.

The presidential order Bush signed represents a change in responsibilities for the NSA, which traditionally monitors actions in foreign countries, the Times said.