Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says President Bush was right in authorizing a domestic spying program.
In an interview broadcast Sunday on U.S. television, on ABC's This Week program, Mr. Powell says there was "absolutely nothing wrong" with the president's actions, because he was trying to protect the nation in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Mr. Powell acknowledges that the administration could have secured warrants from a secret federal court that approves wiretapping and other forms of eavesdropping.
He also says Congress will have to determine whether it gave Mr. Bush unlimited authority to conduct the domestic spying program without the need to go through legal channels. But Mr. Powell says the eavesdropping program should continue.
