President George W Bush has urged Congress to pass a bill to help eavesdrop on US telecommunications linked to terror investigations.
At the White House, he said the renewal of the expired intelligence law on wiretapping was an "urgent priority".
The legislation would give retroactive legal immunity to telecoms firms that helped the government after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US.
Mr Bush warned the programme was "vital to our national security".
The Protect America Act allows the US authorities to tap into phone calls and e-mails routed through Bush warns Congress on wiretaps ...
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But the act did not grant immunity to the firms which co-operated with the programme set up by the Bush administration after the 9-11 attacks.
Several lawsuits have since been filed against the companies by campaigners over violation of privacy laws.
Mr Bush told the White House on Tuesday such lawsuits would allow al-Qaeda to scrutinise US intelligence methods and gift them a "roadmap on how to avoid the surveillance".
(BBC)
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