[JURIST] Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website], chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), ranking member of the committee, have sent a letter [PDF text; press release] to US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking him again to respond to questions about the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program [JURIST news archive] and to disclose documents on the legal basis for it. In their letter Monday, the Senators wrote:

This Committee has made no fewer than eight formal requests over the past 18 months – to the White House, the Attorney General, or other Department of Justice officials – seeking documents and information related to this surveillance program. These requests have sought the Executive Branch legal analysis of this program and documents reflecting its authorization by the President. You have rebuffed all requests for documents and your answers to our questions have been wholly inadequate and, at times, misleading.