Domestic spying was a top issue on Capitol Hill Thursday — one day after the Bush administration announced it would finally seek court warrants for spying on U.S. citizens. The reversal came more than five years after the Bush administration began the warrantless eavesdropping and a little over a year after the program was first publicly disclosed. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain the delay. He was questioned by Republican Senator Arlen Specter.

Sen. Arlen Specter: “I believe that the United States and the administration have paid a heavy price for not acting sooner to bring the terrorist surveillance program under judicial review. That’s the traditional way — before there was a wiretap, or search and seizure — to have probable cause established and to have the court approval.”

Critics have argued the Bush administration reversed its stance on domestic spying just as the Democrat-controlled Congress was to bring new scrutiny. But Gonzales said the administration had good reason for the delay.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: “I must take issue with Senator Specter. This is a very complicated application. In many ways, it’s innovative in terms of the orders granted by the judge. It’s not the kind of thing you just pull off the shelf. We’ve worked on it a long time.”