[angkor]

>>>>>The “pen register” and “trap and trace” with the telecoms that you discuss and the NSA wiretapping without a warrant. Am I wrong about two issues?

I believe so. There was never any “wiretapping” case per se. It has always been about T&T and PR. The press and the ACLU have had a great deal of fun conflating the two issues, and getting away with it because this is really down in the weeds and something most normal folks won’t try to untangle.

But it’s very simple really. NSA was charged to work with the international carriers and to install some sort of monitoring device at the core phone switches in order to scan for specific phone numbers (found on al Qaeda cellphones and laptops) that were going across the switch. When they got a hit, they’d in turn add the new phone number. It’s absolutely classic T&T and PR.

[avacado]

Looking at the bill that just passed the House and the Senate it seems that it is for both the NSA wiretapping (FISA) and for the telecoms to work with the government. I would say it covers both issues in one bill.

H.R. 6304: FISA Amendments Act of 2008

FULL TEXT

Introduced	        Jun 19, 2008
Scheduled for Debate	Jun 20, 2008
Amendments (5 proposed)
Passed House            Jun 20, 2008
Passed Senate	        Jul  9, 2008