WASHINGTON (AP) - A congressional official says the White House has agreed to give House members access to secret documents about its warrantless wiretapping program.
The Bush administration is trying to persuade the House to protect from civil lawsuits the telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on Americans without the approval of a court. Congress created the court 30 years ago to oversee such activities.
An aide to Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes says House Intelligence and Judiciary committee members and staff will begin reading the documents at the White House today.
Reyes and the panel's ranking Republican requested the documents in May, saying they would not support telecom immunity without them.
The official says the documents include the president's authorization of warrantless wiretapping, White House legal opinions going back to 2001, and the requests sent to the telecommunications companies asking for their assistance.
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