Bush Administration Changes Stance on "Unauthorized" Wiretapping

January 19, 2007

Ever since the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was passed in 1978 there have been two processes for obtaining and implementing wiretaps. One utilizes the traditional court system while the other uses a secret court system, but in both cases the judicial branch has acts as one side of the "check and balance" in the request and approval process of obtaining wiretaps.

For normal criminal activity and investigations sworn law enforcement agents, with the appropriate training and certification, build portfolios with information that allows them to justify to a judge why a wiretap is needed. The judge then either approves or denies the request, but even with approval puts restrictions on the duration and use of the wiretap. For cases involving foreign targets/communication, the same process is followed but due to the highly sensitive nature of foreign intelligence, the requests are taken out of the public system and processed through a separate and distinct Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court system.

An issue arose at the end of 2005 when it was discovered that the Bush administration, under the umbrella of executive war time powers, authorized wiretaps without the review or approval of any court system. Now I'm not a legal authority so I'm not in a position to comment one way or the other on the legality of the action but it is clear to see why this raised concerns with many Americans.

However, this past Wednesday the administration has reversed their position and has apparently worked out an agreement to work with the FISA court system to obtain expedited authorization for the intercepts they need.

I think this agreement is good news for America. It allows the government to keep doing what it needs to do to protect the citizens of the U.S. in a timely manner while also protecting the privacy rights and concerns of those same citizens.

Please feel free to comment. Till next time ...