KR:Bush: I have power to order spying in U.S.-legal experts-prez broke law

Bush: I have power to order spying in U.S.
Some legal experts say president broke the law

RON HUTCHESON
Knight Ridder

WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday he didn't need explicit permission from Congress or the courts for a secret domestic surveillance program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists.

At a White House news conference, Bush expressed outrage that the program had become public and vowed to continue it. The president said his constitutional power as commander in chief and the congressional resolution that authorized the use of military force against terrorists gave him the authority to order the eavesdropping.

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His explanation fueled more anger over the domestic spying, and some legal experts asserted that Bush broke the law on a scale that could warrant his impeachment.

"The president's dead wrong. It's not a close question. Federal law is clear," said Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and a specialist in surveillance law. "When the president admits that he violated federal law, that raises serious constitutional questions of high crimes and misdemeanors."