Judge Neil Gorsuch told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that he does not think the president has the authority to intercept the communications of Americans.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, raised the issue of Gorsuch’s work as a Justice Department official during President George W. Bush’s administration and the Bush administration’s implementation of surveillance programs. Feinstein referred to draft testimony Gorsuch prepared before asking whether the federal appeals judge thought the president has the “inherent authority to intercept” the communications of the American people.
“Goodness no, senator, and I didn’t believe it at the time,” Gorsuch said. “I was acting in the capacity as a speechwriter.”
When pressed on his other work in the Bush Justice Department, the judge answered that he would need to see individual emails Feinstein was discussing. After a Feinstein aide presented him with specific emails, Feinstein indicated she would ask him about the topic again during her second round of questioning, scheduled for Wednesday.
