Gonzales faces sharp criticism by senators

By Greg Gordon

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats and one Republican pressed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Thursday to explain why it took the Bush administration five years to give a secret national security court control over government eavesdropping on suspected terrorists.

Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee that such a change was highly complex - "not the kind of thing you pull off a shelf" - and that it took time to find a way to do it without compromising the nation's security.