Act won’t allow domestic spying

The Bush administration denied it would use a revised surveillance act to spy on domestic targets.

According to a fact sheet distributed by the White House, the Protect America Act does not authorize any kind of physical search or opening of domestic mail without a court order. The new law would allow the director of national intelligence and the U.S. attorney general to order communications service providers to assist in authorized foreign intelligence activities targeting individuals located outside the United States.

Jewish organizations were among those that had expressed concerns about the law passed this summer with vague language that could be interpreted as allowing searches without warramts of U.S. individuals and organizations in communication with suspected spies and terrorists overseas.