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Justice Officials Fear Nation's Biggest Wiretap Operation May Not Be Legal (usatoday.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the can-you-hear-me-now? dept.

schwit1 writes with news about a vast wiretapping program and questions about its legality. USA Today reports: "Federal drug agents have built a massive wiretapping operation in the Los Angeles suburbs, secretly intercepting tens of thousands of Americans' phone calls and text messages to monitor drug traffickers across the United States despite objections from Justice Department lawyers who fear the practice may not be legal. Nearly all of that surveillance was authorized by a single state court judge in Riverside County, who last year signed off on almost five times as many wiretaps as any other judge in the United States. The judge's orders allowed investigators — usually from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration — to intercept more than 2 million conversations involving 44,000 people, federal court records show."

4 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. The Words of the former NSA Tech Director by rea1l1 · · Score: 5, Informative

    "If I am anywhere in the USA, and am talking on my cellphone, can the government hear me? And are they recording? And can they use it against me at any time?"

    "Yes." -- Bill Binney, former NSA Tech Director. Worked for NSA 37 years

    also:

    "Bulk surveillance is not necessary to protect anybody. NSA tries to track everyone on the planet. google: the program Treasuremap. OS's are absolutely not safe!" -- Bill Binney, former NSA Tech Director. Worked for NSA 37 years

    https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/...

  2. Wait... by webdog314 · · Score: 3, Informative

    If this judge works 52 weeks a year (no vacation), and a typical 40 hour work week (without breaks or lunch), and we assume that "conversations involving 44,000 people" requires that each call (warrant) requires at least 2 people (22,000 warrants max), then this judge would need to approve one of these more than once every six minutes!

  3. Re:Time to rethink the "war on drugs" by whoever57 · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's also pretty obvious that the private prison industry is huge and lobbies extensively.

    If only it were just the private sector... Public sector prison guards have powerful lobbying through their unions.

    --
    The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  4. Re: but its working by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Informative

    >anti-drug laws that do no good and make no sense

    You must be new here. Follow the money.

    https://youtu.be/5_UbAmRGSYw

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)