White House panel OKs surveillance work

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A White House privacy board has determined that two of the Bush administration’s surveillance programs - domestic wiretapping and financial tracking - do not violate citizens’ civil liberties.

Democrats quickly criticized the findings, which they said were questionable given some of the board members’ close ties with the Bush administration.

The report finds that both the National Security Agency’s wiretapping without warrants and the Treasury Department’s monitoring of international banking transactions have sufficient privacy protections, three board members told The Associated Press in telephone interviews.

For more information see today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Subscribers can read the story here on ArkansasOnline.