Wired
by Jennifer Granick

12/21/05

Ignorance of the law is no defense. Someone should tell the president. ... Statutes prohibit government interceptions of the phone and e-mail conversations of United States citizens unless officials have first sought and obtained court approval, either under the Wiretap Act, for criminal investigations, or under FISA, for national security investigations. The only exceptions are following a declaration of war, when the president has very narrow, time-limited powers to order surveillance to obtain information to prevent attacks, terrorism or espionage, and under special circumstances when no U.S. citizens are involved. The administration's actions clearly fall outside these boundaries. There is no legal justification for these warrantless interceptions, which included calls to and from American citizens...

http://tinyurl.com/9ukp9


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp