Senate panel approves expansion of government wiretap power

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to give the government new anti-terrorism powers to wiretap foreigners suspected of being "lone wolves" plotting violence.

The legislation sponsored by Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., was approved 16-0 and sent to the Senate for consideration. The bill was a substitute by Kyl that added a "sunset" provision to have it expire at the end of 2006.

The measure (S. 113) is designed in part to overcome legal problems the FBI encountered when agents attempted to wiretap Zakarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker and the only person charged with plotting the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The agency got suspicious of Moussaoui when he was a student pilot.

The bill amends the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorizes electronic surveillance of foreigners associated with foreign powers or terrorist organizations. This bill would cover someone not necessarily associated with foreign powers or terrorist groups.

The legislation expands the meaning of "foreign powers" to include any non-U.S. citizen who is thought to be engaging in terrorism or planning terrorist acts. It is aimed at the so-called "lone wolf" operative who might be planning terrorist activities but might not be readily identified with a foreign power or terrorist organization.

Surveillance would not be limited to people living overseas since there is no restriction in the bill to eavesdropping on foreigners living in the United States.

The legislation is another in a series of powers that Congress has approved since the Sept. 11, 2001 suicide attacks on New York and the Pentagon and a suicide flight aborted in Pennsylvania.

Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., proposed an amendment that would allow suspects to seek court permission to files providing the basis for a law enforcement agency seeking permission to conduct surveillance. The panel defeated his amendment, 4-11.