NSA Launches Internal Probe Into Spy Program

Washington Post: The National Security Agency’s inspector general has opened an investigation into eavesdropping without warrants in the United States by the agency authorized by President Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to a letter released late yesterday.

The Pentagon’s acting inspector general, Thomas F. Gimble, wrote that his counterpart at the NSA “is already actively reviewing aspects of that program” and has “considerable expertise in the oversight of electronic surveillance,” according to the letter sent to House Democrats who have requested official investigations of the NSA program. | story

Meanwhile, a dream team of 14 legal scholars and ex-gov’t officials write a memo to the DOJ calling the NSA program illegal. | story (via the Huffington Post)