‘White House-Justice Department Will be Held Accountable for Operating Outside the Law’

ABC News’Jason Ryan Reports: At a forum held today at the Georgetown University Law School Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), incoming Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee promised more stringent oversight of the Justice Department and controversial programs implemented by the Bush administration since the 9/11 attacks.

Although the Vermont Senator laid out few specifics about legislation he may seek to balance security and privacy rights Leahy had tough words for the administration saying, "It has acted outside the law to wiretap Americans without warrants — outside the law. It’s created databanks and dossiers on law-abiding Americans, without following the law and without first seeking legal authorization…The White House has behaved as if the Constitution begins with Article II."

Leahy cited the controversial NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program which intercepts calls made by Al Qaeda suspects to individuals inside the United States and a DHS program, the Automated Targeting System which assigns terrorist threat scores on US travelers. Traditionally surveillance done inside the US for terrorism cases has been authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or FISA. There is competing legislation to review and authorize aspects of the NSA program but Leahy said, "I don’t think it is possible to craft laws under FISA that really work if we don’t know what they’re doing…So I want to know what they’re doing. We can determine whether FISA needs changes to do that."

"My guess is that much of the ignoring of the law was done just because it’s easier." Leahy said.

The Vermont Senator also announced that he would be establish a new Human Rights subcommittee to focus on war crimes, torture and human trafficking and said that the Judiciary Committee will closely examine contracting fraud in Iraq and seek legislation on preventing war profiteering.

Shortly after receiving the gavel from outgoing Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter in January, Leahy said that he would seek to call Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for an oversight hearing . "He’ll be up quite soon. I have not set a date." Leahy told the forum at Georgetown’s Law School.

"And I am not prepared to accept answers of, ‘I can’t talk about that,’ or, ‘We’ll get back to you,’ because, of course, they never get back to us." Leahy said about written correspondence from the Justice Department. Last week in an oversight hearing with FBI Director Robert Mueller several Senators expressed frustration with the Justice Department for not clearing and providing the Committee with written questions for the record until 7 months after the questions were submitted by the FBI.

At that hearing Leahy indicated that the Committee may hold longer hearings because of the Department’s tardiness in getting answers to the oversight Committee. Leahy told Mueller, "The alternative is going to be that when he [AG Gonzales] comes up here next year or…you’re up here next year, is that the hearing will go on much, much longer if we think we can’t get the answers to these questions. And the other alternative is we’re here into the evening, asking the questions."