I don't get this complaint. NSA "warrantless wiretapping" intercepts fall into two categories:
- Intercepts where at least one participant is a foreign party and thus are 100% constitutional without a warrant, under well-established national security powers.
- Intercepts where both participants are U.S. nationals.
Obviously, the latter would be unconstitutional to collect deliberately. But the whole point of these systems is to avoid collecting these communications, and to delete them as soon as they're discovered. It is, I think, fair to say that it's nearly impossible to devise a system that will collect what you want out of the first category while being absolutely certain not to intrude on the second. The revised FISA law was designed to ensure that there's judicial review of the process by which communications of the second category are identified and their intercepts destroyed. That judicial review has gone forward, as far as I know, and the program, with the current administration's blessing, continues to this day.
What's the injury to citizens and their rights? You don't trust the executive, under the supervision of both Congress and the judiciary, to follow the law and delete any intercepts with your name on them? Well, then you have bigger problems.
- Intercepts where at least one participant is a foreign party and thus are 100% constitutional without a warrant, under well-established national security powers.
- Intercepts where both participants are U.S. nationals.
Obviously, the latter would be unconstitutional to collect deliberately. But the whole point of these systems is to avoid collecting these communications, and to delete them as soon as they're discovered. It is, I think, fair to say that it's nearly impossible to devise a system that will collect what you want out of the first category while being absolutely certain not to intrude on the second. The revised FISA law was designed to ensure that there's judicial review of the process by which communications of the second category are identified and their intercepts destroyed. That judicial review has gone forward, as far as I know, and the program, with the current administration's blessing, continues to this day.
What's the injury to citizens and their rights? You don't trust the executive, under the supervision of both Congress and the judiciary, to follow the law and delete any intercepts with your name on them? Well, then you have bigger problems.