“Look, FISA clearly states that a warrant is required for the surveillance of American citizens.”
Actually, Hayden’s comments are from 2005, so they do not pertain to how the Obama Administration has carried out FISA. I don’t know whether or not FISA has a warrant requirement for searches of metadata, but if that’s the case, then NSA is violation of the law. And even if the law doesn’t impose a warrant requirement, I think that it certainly is arguable that the metadata searches are unreasonable pursuant to the 4th Amendment, so Obama wouldn’t be off the hook yet. My only point is that it is incorrect to say that the Fourth Amendment requires probable cause for all searches, or bans warrantless searches.
“This isn’t an abstract discussion about the meaning of the 4th amendment.”
I respectfully disagree. When some news outlet decided to take a transcript from 2005 and misconstrue what Hayden said, falsely claiming in its headline that Hayden stated that the words “probable cause” did not appear anywhere in the Fourth Amendment, it became an abstract discussion of the Fourth Amendment. While I don’t know Michael Hayden from Adam, and he may be a nincompoop as far as I know (although if Dick Cheney vouches for him he can’t be all bad), I will stand up for the truth and not allow well meaning conservatives to spread the false notion that the Fourth Amendment prohibits searches without probable cause or without a prior warrant.
->>I will stand up for the truth and not allow well meaning conservatives to spread the false notion that the Fourth Amendment prohibits searches without probable cause or without a prior warrant.
So, it was over one million cases that our government felt compelled to investigate while they proved this scenario in a secret court that the NSA had probable cause for millions of warrants (which now it’s legal as they claim it is). How do you explain the dragnet involving innocent citizens. I want to be protected but why this overreach. Is it worth our liberties. I think it’s too late unless millions insist to stop this overreach of prism.