Democratic senator says Bush violated law with wiretaps

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Democratic senator says Bush violated law with wiretaps

Sun, 18 Dec 2005 07:44:18 -0500

 

 

 

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Democratic_senator_says_Bush_violated_law_1217.htm\

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Democratic senator says Bush violated law with wiretaps: He is a

president, not a king

12/17/2005 @ 4:20 pm

Filed by RAW STORY

 

From a release issued to RAW STORY by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in

response to President Bush's admission Saturday that the president

personally authorized wiretaps of individuals who emailed or phoned

other countries.

 

" Yesterday morning, Republican and Democratic Senators blocked a

flawed bill that extended parts of the Patriot Act that are set to

expire without fixing the fundamental problems with the law. Nobody

wants these parts of the Patriot Act to expire -- we want to fix them

before making them permanent, by including important protections for

the rights and freedoms of innocent American citizens.

 

" With a few modest but critical improvements, like making sure that

when the government seeks library records it has to show that those

records have some connection to a suspected terrorist or spy, we can

give the government the powers it needs while also protecting the

constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. The President can sign

a bill into law tomorrow to reauthorize the Patriot Act if he will

agree to the bill that the Senate unanimously passed in July or he

could extend the law for a short period so negotiations can continue.

 

" The President's shocking admission that he authorized the National

Security Agency to spy on American citizens, without going to a court

and in violation of the Constitution and laws passed by Congress,

further demonstrates the urgent need for these protections. The

President believes that he has the power to override the laws that

Congress has passed. This is not how our democratic system of

government works. The President does not get to pick and choose which

laws he wants to follow. He is a president, not a king.

 

" On behalf of all Americans who believe in our constitutional system

of government, I call on this Administration to stop this program

immediately and to fully cooperate with congressional inquiries and

investigations. We have had enough of an Administration that puts

itself above the law and the Constitution. "

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Fact Sheet on Domestic Intelligence Wiretaps December 17, 2005

 

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The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was enacted in

1978 to provide a statutory framework for eavesdropping on individuals

within the United States, including U.S. citizens, who are not

suspected of having committed a crime but who are likely to be spies

or members of terrorist organizations.

*

 

FISA established a secret court that could issue wiretap orders

if the government showed probable cause that the individual to be

tapped is an " agent of a foreign power, " meaning he or she is

affiliated with a foreign government or terrorist organization. This

is an easier standard to meet than the criminal wiretap standard,

which requires that there be: (1) probable cause that the individual

to be tapped has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a

crime, and (2) probable cause that communications concerning that

crime will be obtained through the electronic surveillance.

*

 

In the 27 years since it was established, the FISA court has

turned down only a handful of applications for wiretap orders. The

number of approved FISA wiretap orders has jumped since September 11,

2001, with 1,754 FISA orders issued last year, up from 934 such orders

in 2001.

*

 

FISA already addresses emergency situations where there is not

time to get pre-approval from the court. It includes an emergency

exception that permits government agents to install a wiretap and

start monitoring phone and email conversations immediately, as long as

they then go to the FISA court and get a court order within 72 hours.

*

 

FISA makes it a crime, punishable by up to five years in prison,

to conduct electronic surveillance except as provided for by statute.

The only defense is for law government agents engaged in official

duties conducting " surveillance authorized by and conducted pursuant

to a search warrant or court order. " [50 U.S.C. § 1809]

*

 

Congress has specifically stated, in statute, that the criminal

wiretap statute and FISA " shall be the exclusive means by which

electronic surveillance . . . and the interception of domestic wire,

oral, and electronic communications may be conducted. " [18 U.S.C. §

2518(f)]

*

 

The target of a FISA wiretap is never given notice that he or

she was subject to surveillance, unless the evidence obtained through

the electronic surveillance is ultimately used against the target in a

criminal trial.