GOP senators bar probe of NSA program
By Greg Miller and Maura Reynolds, Baltimore SunWASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans blocked a proposed investigation of President Bush's domestic spying operation yesterday, as the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said he had reached an agreement with the White House to pursue legislation that would establish clearer rules surrounding the controversial National Security Agency surveillance program.
But Senate aides described the discussions with the White House as very preliminary. And angry Democrats expressed deep skepticism with the negotiations, with some describing them as a ploy to protect the Bush administration and the highly classified domestic eavesdropping operation from congressional scrutiny.
