Warrantless Wiretapping Fight in Congress

As mentioned in an earlier post, legislation explicitly allowing the controversial NSA "warrantless wiretapping" program is a substantial part of President Bush's agenda for the next Congress. The administration has maintained that the program is a legal use of executive power (see a letter from the Department of Justice to a Senate committee) as a consequence of the War on Terror (although the timing of the program is disputed). However, the ACLU claims the program is a blatant violation of the Constitution and federal law, and filed a lawsuit in January.

A federal judge ruled in August that the program is, in fact, unconstitutional, and must stop immediately (story in Wired). From her opinion:

"The President of the United States, a creature of the same Constitution which gave us these Amendments, has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders as required ..."

The decision has been appealed, and the program is allowed to continue until the appeal is decided.

Legislation to explicitly allow limited warrantless wiretapping by the executive branch has been passed by the House of Representatives, and three competing bills are pending in the Senate. However, due to the recent change in power in Congress and continued ACLU pressure, it looks like a law won't get passed (AP) anytime soon.