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Warrantless Wiretapping Program Ruled "Illegal" in Federal Court
 Matt Renner - Truthout.org
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April 01, 2010
Federal Judge Vaughn Walker ruled on Wednesday that the warrantless wiretapping program employed by the National Security Agency (NSA) under the Bush administration to spy on an Islamic charity was illegal.
Top staff and lawyers for Al Haramain, an Islamic charity which has since ceased operations, were accidentally given a document which they claim showed that the NSA had monitored their phone conversations in 2004 without a court order, and in doing so, violated federal laws intended to restrict the power of the executive branch after the Watergate scandal.
After "Plaintiffs must - and have - put forward enough evidence to establish a prima facie case that they were subjected to warrantless electronic surveillance," Judge Walker wrote in his opinion declaring that the government was on the hook for damages suffered by the charity.
From the New York Times:
| The ruling delivered a blow to the Bush administration’s claims that its surveillance program, which Mr. Bush secretly authorized shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was lawful. Under the program, the National Security Agency monitored Americans’ international e-mail messages and phone calls without court approval, even though the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, required warrants.
Read the full NY Times story here. |
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