Statement of People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas

People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas issued the following statement in response to today’s federal district court ruling that the Bush administration’s warrantless domestic wiretapping program is illegal and unconstitutional:

“Legal scholars and members of Congress from both political parties, including Republican Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, agree that President Bush’s warrantless domestic wiretapping program violates the law. Now a federal judge has ruled that this is the case. We call on the president to obey the court order, bring the illegal wiretapping program to an immediate halt, and tell the Justice Department to hold those who have broken the law to account.

“No American opposes legal wiretaps of suspected terrorists, but just about every American opposes illegal spying on American citizens. No one is above the law. For the president to claim otherwise would represent the height of arrogance.”