Secret session on wiretap held

The House held an unusual closed-door session to talk about intelligence gathering in anticipation of a vote on Friday on a warrantless eavesdropping bill. The Democratic bill would set rules for surveillance of phone calls and e-mails. President Bush has vowed to veto it. Bush8217;s objection is that the bill does not protect telecom firms that allowed eavesdropping on customers without court clearance after the 9/11 attacks. The last such session was in 1983, on US support for operations in Nicaragua. Only five closed sessions have taken place in the House since 1825.