WASHINGTON (AP) - Two Democratic senators have won the promise of hearings into what they say is a secret and expansive legal interpretation of the Patriot Act by the Justice Department.
The criticism by Senate Intelligence Committee members Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado came as Congress moved to extend the government's Patriot Act powers to search records and conduct roving wiretaps.
The two senators say there is a growing gap between what the law says and what the senators call a secret interpretation of the law by the Justice Department.
Wyden and Udall had proposed that Attorney General Eric Holder file a public report on the legal rationale for intelligence collection activities. For now, the senators will settle for hearings.
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