National Security Agency U S

An Internet rights group filed suit Tuesday against AT&T, accusing the long-distance telephone giant of violating federal privacy laws by helping the National Security Agency monitor calls and e-mail as part of its recently disclosed domestic spying operation.

The nation's top intelligence officials resisted pressure to provide more details about a controversial domestic eavesdropping program during congressional testimony Thursday, but said without elaborating that the operation had enabled authorities to disrupt potential terrorist plots. National Intelligence Director John D.

Since George W. Bush became president, Republicans in Congress have nearly always marched in lock step with him. In large measure, their clout as lawmakers was enhanced by standing shoulder to shoulder with the president. But that equation may be changing, and a crucial test comes next week when a Senate hearing opens into Bush's domestic spying program.

The nation's No. 2 intelligence official staunchly defended the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping operations Sunday, the day before what may be highly contentious Senate hearings into the controversial program. Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, deputy director of national intelligence, said current laws limited the ability of intelligence agencies to detect potential terrorist plots.

Facing often testy interrogation by lawmakers from both parties, Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales on Monday staunchly defended the National Security Agency's warrantless spying program as a legally justified "early warning system" designed to protect America in a technological age.

A federal judge gave the government two months to respond to an Ohio truck driver's request that his terrorism conviction be thrown out on grounds that the government illegally spied on him. U.S.

Bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for stricter regulation of President Bush's secret spying program grew Thursday, as senators briefed by administration officials about the surveillance termed the information inadequate, and called for more investigation of the eavesdropping. The 16-member Senate Intelligence Committee met behind closed doors for three hours to hear details on the program, conducted by the National Security Agency.

Lawmakers pressed ahead Wednesday with proposals that would authorize President Bush's domestic spying program, as Senate Intelligence Committee members debated whether to launch an investigation into the controversial surveillance activities. The Senate Intelligence Committee meets today and is expected to vote on a Democratic proposal to investigate the eavesdropping by the National Security Agency.

Senators filed out of a tense, closed-door session of the Senate Intelligence Committee this week, seemingly enveloped in an angry cloud of steam. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), the chairman of the panel, recalled the "nonpartisan tradition" of the committee. "We should fight the enemy; we should not fight each other," he said. His Democratic counterpart, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia, was fuming.

Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) said Sunday that he would ask the Senate to censure President Bush for authorizing a warrantless domestic spying program, signaling a new determination by Democrats to keep the heat on the White House over the controversial eavesdropping by the National Security Agency.