[Mike Darancette]

Also, the FISA court being established in 1978, is SO FAR behind what the technology and the world is like...that they are pretty much obsolete for what is necessary re: terrorism.

That is a weak argument, since the law is the law, change if it does not work.

That said I think the Constitutional argument regarding Presidential powers in war time is a winner. The President as Commander-in-Chief protecting the country seems to winning traction among the People. The RATS jumping on the President for doing his job is like saying apple pie tastes bad and mom is a whore.

I lucked into seeing the WSJ show it was really nerdish and one sided -- I loved it.

[Txsleuth]

If you saw it...then you know the answer to why Bush didn't push for a law change...

How are you going to change a law affecting a program that is so secret and so necessary at that time??

EVEN the DEMS that were told agreed to that...

[Boot Hill]

Mike Darancette:   "I think the Constitutional argument regarding Presidential powers in war time is a winner."

You can say that again!

"However, because of the President's constitutional duty to act for the United States in the field of foreign relations, and his inherent power to protect national security in the context of foreign affairs, we reaffirm what we held in United States v. Clay, supra, that the President may constitutionally authorize warrantless wiretaps for the purpose of gathering foreign intelligence."

--United States v. Brown, 484 F.2d 418, 426 (1973)

"We agree with the district court that the Executive Branch need not always obtain a warrant for foreign intelligence surveillance."

--U.S. v. Truong Dinh Hung, 629 F.2d 908, 913 (1980)

"Prior to the enactment of FISA, virtually every court that had addressed the issue had concluded that the President had the inherent power to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance to collect foreign intelligence information, and that such surveillances constituted an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment."

--United States v. Duggan, 743 F.2d 59 (1984)

"The Truong court, as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent [constitutional] authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information."

--In re Sealed Case, 310, F3d. 717, 742 (2002)