GovernmentExecutive.com

Gen. Michael Hayden, President Bush's nominee to be CIA chief, steadfastly maintained Thursday that the administration's electronic surveillance of ordinary Americans is legal and aimed at catching terrorists, not invading the privacy of innocents.

He told the Senate Intelligence Committee that when it came time for him to decide what to do about stepped-up anti-terrorism surveillance in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, his path was dictated by his conscience. "I could not not do this," Hayden said.

Members of the committee grilled Hayden on both the electronic surveillance of Americans and on the faulty intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war. The toughest questioning came over the spying, with the most-pointed queries coming from those senators who were not briefed early in the process and who learned about it from the media.

The administration limited its congressional briefings to Congress' top leadership and chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence committees until public disclosure of the program brought howls of protest from other members of Congress. All members of the Intelligence panels have since been briefed.

"Despite yesterday's last-minute briefing, you and the Bush administration have not kept the committee fully and completely informed about all intelligence activities," fumed Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Sen Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, called leaders on the committees the "gang of eight" and said simply briefing those members "undermines all of our authority. This is not just a one-way street here. We're not adversaries; we're allies in the war on terror," she said.

Wyden also accused Hayden of saying one thing in public and another privately. Hayden and other administration officials earlier had said the electronic spying was restricted only to international calls. Hayden said that judgment was up to Wyden and the rest of the committee.

"Well, senator, you're going to have to make a judgment on my character," the general responded. "I was as full and open as I possibly could be." Hayden pledged to work with Congress, but his assurances were met with some skepticism. Nonetheless, his nomination does not appear to be in serious jeopardy.

After Thursday's open hearing, which lasted about seven hours, Hayden was scheduled to participate in a closed-door session with the committee during which sensitive intelligence matters were to be discussed.

Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who was briefed about the warrantless surveillance of Americans, told Hayden that he is a "strong supporter of First Amendment and Fourth Amendment civil liberties. But you have no civil liberties if you are dead."

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Hayden has the "background and credentials" for the CIA directorship, but questioned the constitutionality of the wiretapping program. Hayden said he would only talk about the part of the program that Bush had discussed previously. He said he could go into greater detail in the closed session.

If confirmed, Hayden would succeed Porter Goss, who resigned as CIA director under a cloud. Goss had dismissed many high-ranking officials at the CIA and had ruffled feathers there. Hayden has pledged to bring back as his deputy Stephen Kappes, who quit as deputy director of operations under Goss.