NID Admits ATT/Verizon Help With Wiretaps

Unlikely_Hero writes "National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell has confirmed in an interview with the El Paso Times that AT&T and Verizon have both been helping the Bush Administration conduct wiretaps. He also claims that only 100 Americans are under surveilance, that it takes 200 hours to assemble a FISA warrant on a telephone number and suggests that companies like AT&T and Verizon that "cooperate" with the Administration should be granted immunity from the lawsuits they currently face regarding the issue."

Comments

Re:Still using that tired, sad old line?

[TubeSteak]

If it's taking you 200 hours to get a warrant, Mike, then perhaps the government could find some wasted money [wikipedia.org] that might be better spent fixing our overburdened legal system. I think you misunderstood.

He's not saying the legal system is overburdened. He's saying it requires 200 man hours (8.33 days) to "assemble" the paper work and proof needed to go before a judge and get a warrant.

In other words: it sucks they have to do so much work in the name of due process.

200 hours isn't an excuse to shortcut the Constitution, and unless they're actually going out and doing investigative work as part of those 200 hours, IMO they need to get a consultant to help them streamline their processes. They must have some serious inefficiencies going on.

Re:Unless

[E 99]

No company should surrender private communications to the government without a warrant. And if they do, the public can sued them.

So if the Japanese had discussed the attack on Pearl Harbor amongst themselves but over AT&T phone lines, you're arguing that AT&T should have conspired with the Japanese to keep the attack secret? There's no kind of warrant that applies to foreign enemy powers. Warrants are for criminal prosecutions. Also warrants are issued by judges, and judges are constitutionally excluded from issues involving the waging of war.