White House Clears Itself in Eavesdropping Case

A White House privacy board is giving its stamp of approval to two of the Bush administration's controversial surveillance programs _ electronic eavesdropping and financial tracking _ and says they do not violate citizens' civil liberties.

Democrats newly in charge of Congress quickly criticized the findings, which they said were questionable given some of the board members' close ties with the Bush administration.

 "Their current findings and any additional conclusions they reach will be taken with a grain of salt until they become fully independent," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.