Warrantless Wiretaps Possible in U.S.

[kpete]

Warrantless Wiretaps Possible in U.S.

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 7, 2006; Page A03

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales left open the possibility yesterday that President Bush could order warrantless wiretaps on telephone calls occurring solely within the United States -- a move that would dramatically expand the reach of a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program.

In response to a question from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Gonzales suggested that the administration could decide it was legal to listen in on a domestic call without supervision if it were related to al-Qaeda.

"I'm not going to rule it out," Gonzales said.

In the past, Gonzales and other officials refused to say whether they had the legal authority to conduct warrantless eavesdropping on domestic calls, and have stressed that the NSA eavesdropping program is focused only on international communications.

Gonzales previously testified in the Senate that Bush had considered including purely domestic communications in the NSA spying program, but he said the idea was rejected in part because of fears of a public outcry. He also testified at the time that the Justice Department had not fully analyzed the legal issues of such a move.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040600764.html

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. Of course they are!

We're talkin' about BushCo. It is a given that they have and are currently eavesdropping on ANY and EVERY political threat. That includes Fitz, Kerry, Hillary, Dean and you name 'em. I hope every Democrat involved witha campiagn that reads this takes counter-measures to the best of their ability. Take for granted you are being spied on.

[Ian David]

2. Saves them the trouble of having MCI / Worldcom route calls through Canada

FYI: All those outsourced customer support call centers are over-seas.

The NSA can listen-in while we complain to Dell computers that our hard drive crashed and erased all our porn.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Make that 'probable'. nt

[GeorgeGist]

4. HE'S NOT GOING TO RULE IT OUT!

No wonder he wasn't nominated to SCOTUS; he's a Unitary Supreme Judge.