Principles

In my book Principles for a Self-Directed Society, section 6.3.2.1 “Big Brother Really Is Watching You,” I discuss legislation which was then pending:  the FISA Amendments Act, which has received much publicity in the media.  The legislation was intended to hugely broaden Presidential powers by essentially signing off after the fact on an illegal warrantless wiretap program which the Bush administration had already been conducting for years. The FISA Amendments Act is an extension of a previous bill which did just that for a limited time; but the new bill also reforms the system that was established by the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in several ways. The aspect of the legislation which has received the most attention in the media is the retroactive immunity it provides to telecommunications companies which participated in the illegal warrantless surveillance program; yet although this provision may be the most obviously odious, it is hardly the most sinister part of the bill. According to Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, the bill “allow[s] the government to apply for wiretaps after beginning surveillance and [to] continue monitoring Americans’ phone calls and e-mail messages [even] if the FISA court rejects the application.” (Emphasis added.)

I would like to remind America that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution specifically prohibits the government from conducting any search without a warrant based on probable cause.
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