Eighteen Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday called the White House to appoint a special counsel to investigate the legality of the domestic eavesdropping program, but the proposal was rejected by the White House.

In a letter the President George W. Bush, released on Monday, the Democratic lawmakers said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should appoint a special counsel to investigate the eavesdropping program, saying that the surveillance of terrorists must be conducted within the bounds of U.S. law.

"If the effort to prevent vigorous and appropriate investigation succeeds, we fear the inexorable conclusion will be that these executive branch agencies hold themselves above the law and accountable to no one," said the Democrats, who were led by Zoe Lofgren, a member of the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.

The program, authorized by Bush soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was revealed by The New York Times and then acknowledged by the White House in December last year.

The program that allows the National Security Agency to monitor, without court warrants, international telephone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens with suspected ties to al Qaida has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans. They say Bush may have overstepped his constitutional authority and violated the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires warrants for all domestic electronic eavesdropping.

The lawmakers previously asked the inspectors general of the Defense Department and the Justice Department to open inquiries into the program, but their request were rejected.

Administration officials have argued the president had the power to order the program, either with his constitutional authority as commander in chief or under a 2001 legislation that authorized the use of military in the anti-terror war.

At the White House, spokesman Scott McClellan said there was no basis for a special counsel on the matter. "I really don't think there's any basis for a special counsel. And I think the attorney general has spoken about that as well," he said.

Instead, he said, those who called for a special counsel to investigate the program "ought to spend their time is on what was the source of the unauthorized disclosure of this vital and critical program in the war on terrorism."

Source: Xinhua