The threat that John Ashcroft's Justice Department would put an end to the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping on Americans brought Alberto Gonzales, then White House counsel, and Andrew Card, then White House chief of staff, to Attorney General Ashcroft's hospital bedside back in March 2004.

Former Deputy Attorney General James Comey's dramatic May 15, 2007 testimony before Congress has focused public attention on the incident.

But the real controversy may be getting lost in the shuffle. Watch the video here of Gonzales' response to the Senate Judiciary Committee in February 2006, when he was questioned specifically about the legal concerns Comey and others in the Justice Department had raised about the NSA spying program.

Gonzales uses carefully chosen words that strongly indicate the president has authorized domestic spying operations well beyond what the president has acknowledged to date.