WASHINGTON, Jan. 31— Bowing to bipartisan pressure from lawmakers, the Justice Department announced today that it was turning over to select members of Congress secret documents detailing the National Security Agency’s domestic eavesdropping program.
The decision came two weeks after Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales faced withering questions from senators about why the Bush Administration had refused to provide details on the legal underpinnings of the N.S.A. program.
Mr. Gonzales appeared on Capitol Hill the day after the Bush administration announced it had agreed to put the N.S.A. program under the authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and that the secret court had on Jan. 10 approved a Justice Department request for a wiretap.
The decision to hand over the documents, which Mr. Gonzales confirmed to reporters today, will allow members of the House and Senate intelligence committees -- as well as select congressional leaders -- to review that court order.
The package of documents the Bush administration is giving to lawmakers is also expected to include Justice Department applications for surveillance approvals and the legal briefs submitted to the FISA court.
Lawmakers from both parties applauded the decision, and pledged that the new congress will closely scrutinize the legality of the N.S.A. program.
“Only with an understanding of the contours of the wiretapping program and the scope of the court’s orders can the Judiciary Committee determine whether the administration has reached the proper balance to protect Americans while following the law,” said Vermont Democrat Patrick J. Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Administration officials cautioned today that lawmakers would only receive documents related to the most recent FISA court orders, and should not expect documentation related to future wiretap requests.
“This shouldn’t be construed as any kind of precedent-setting act,” said one Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the documents.
“It was made clear to members of Congress that this was viewed as a very unique circumstance,” the official added.
Since Mr. Gonzales appeared on Capitol Hill two weeks ago, Justice Department officials have negotiated privately with lawmakers to arrange the terms of the document release.
At this point, only members of the intelligence committees and certain members of the House and Senate leadership have been briefed on the highly classified N.S.A. program. The Bush administration official said that a special provision would be made to allow the top members of the judiciary committees — who have not been given the classified briefings -- to review the FISA court documents.
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