Judge Finds NSA Wiretapping Program Illegal

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that a federal judge has ruled that the NSA's warrantless surveillance program was illegal, rejecting the Obama administration's effort to keep one of Bush's most disputed counterterrorism policies shrouded in secrecy. Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that the government had violated a 1978 federal statute requiring court approval for domestic surveillance when it intercepted phone calls of Al Haramain, a now-defunct Islamic charity in Oregon, and of two lawyers who were representing it in 2004. Declaring that the plaintiffs had been 'subjected to unlawful surveillance,' the judge said that the government was liable to pay them damages."

Comments

Particular Taps, Not Entire Program

[eldavojohn]

Judge Finds NSA Wiretapping Program Illegal

Versus NYTimes title:

Federal Judge Finds N.S.A. Wiretaps Were Illegal

See the difference? The program wasn't ruled illegal. That would be huge. It's the fact that these people are American citizens and there was no court order to wiretap them and they found out about it. For most of us it's just the first two. And from the article:

The overhauled law, however, still requires the government to obtain a warrant if it is focusing on an American citizen or an organization inside the United States. The surveillance of Al Haramain would still be unlawful today if no court had approved it, current and former Justice Department officials said. But since Mr. Obama took office, the N.S.A. has sometimes violated the limits imposed on spying on Americans by the new FISA law. The administration has acknowledged the lapses but said they had been corrected.

So this isn't the great news with a big change that you were hoping for. It just means that if you can prove you were wrongfully wiretapped then you get restitution. Problem is that you have no proof. So you can either lay a trap for the NSA (not smart) or complain to your representative or do nothing.

Re:Particular Taps, Not Entire Program

[mcgrew]

Not you personally, but the people who voted for their respective party's [candidate].

The corporate dollars trump my vote, and those dollars go to both major party candidates. The corporate media won't report on any candidate that isn't Republican or Democrat.

Maybe handing out fliers on election day, outside the polling areas?

In my state you can't do that within 100 feet (30 meters) of a polling place, but it does no good anyway. The Ron Paul yard signs were thick last election, but McCain beat him handily. And what's one flyer going to do against every newspaper, radio, and TV outlet in the country?

We have the best legislators money can buy.

Enough said

[muckracer]

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Damages? Fruit-of-Poisoned vine! Appeal

[redelm]

I'm not sure exactly what damages they can claim. Perhaps lawyers fees. More important is the actual finding -- if the surveillance was illegal, it falls under the "Fruit of the Poisoned Vine" doctrine, and and evidence gathered as a consequence becomes inadmissible in any criminal action.

This the a mjaor finding, and I expect the Feds to appeal. They have lots of lawyers and do not worry about the cost.