Bush Slams Court Threat to Wiretaps; Democrats Block Effort to Protect Surveillance

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Byline: Stephen Dinan and Charles Hurt, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

President Bush yesterday said the courts are threatening his wiretapping program and called on Congress to pass a law to put the program on sounder footing, but one hour later Senate Democrats blocked an effort to do just that.

Mr. Bush, speaking in Atlanta as part of a series of war-on-terror speeches, said his administration has made substantial progress in correcting the mistakes that allowed the September 11 terrorist attacks to happen. Delivering a five-year anniversary report card, the president said the nation boosted domestic security and disrupted terrorist plots through better intelligence and military action abroad.

"We've …