The Expanding Reach of Warrant-less Wiretapping

In 1978, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in order for the government to regulate surveillance on people in the United States.  Initially, FISA was used to gather foreign intelligence information.  In recent years, the Act has been broadened to encompass terrorist groups that are backed by foreign governments.  The Patriot Act of 2001 and FISA amendments such as the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006 and the Protect America Act of 2007 have sufficiently extended governmental reach and empowered the government to apply FISA to not only foreign nations but people within the United States as well. 

Most notably, the Protect America Act of 2007 aimed to ease the “red-tape” that intelligence officials must go through in order to obtain surveillance information on terrorist suspects where one or both parties are not within the United States.  In a White House press release, President Bush maintained that, to better conform to the original intent of the drafters of FISA, intelligence officials should not have to obtain a court order before running surveillance on foreign targets in a foreign country.  Opponents to the Act feel that the Protect America Act is merely a way to increase the Executive Branch’s power to wire tap while having only minimal FISA oversight. 

In a report release on September 19, 2007, Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence, has stated that fewer than one hundred American citizens have become surveillance targets due to what was initially heard on a wiretap.  He further urges that if any suspicious activity is revealed through the warrant-less wiretap, intelligence officers will immediately seek a warrant.  With these facts, McConnell argues that six-month Protect America Act should be extended.  Still another question may arise as to the President’s power to strip judicial oversight.  A 2006 U.S. and News World Report article attempted to reconcile FISA’s expanding role with the Steel Seizure Case.  In light of 2007’s Protect America Act, is the President acting on Congressional acquiescence?  As a broader question, does the legislature have the constitutional right to delegate powers to the Executive branch when the rights of United States citizens may be involved?

For More Information Please See:

CNN, Evan Glass and Kelli Arena - Congress Gives Bush Administration More Eavesdropping Leevay - 8/4/2007

White House Press Release - Fact Sheet: The Protect America Act of 2007 - 8/5/2007

USA Today, Richard Willing - Intelligence Chief: Scant Citizens Spied On - 9/19/2007

Center For Constitutional Rights - Myth and Facts About Warrantless Surveillance