Posted on 02/08/2006 8:14:28 PM PST by frankjr
Twice in the past four years, a top Justice Department lawyer warned the presiding judge of a secret surveillance court that information overheard in President Bush's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to obtain wiretap warrants in the court, according to two sources with knowledge of those events.
The revelations infuriated U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly -- who, like her predecessor, Royce C. Lamberth, had expressed serious doubts about whether the warrantless monitoring of phone calls and e-mails ordered by Bush was legal. Both judges had insisted that no information obtained this way be used to gain warrants from their court, according to government sources, and both had been assured by administration officials it would never happen.
The two heads of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court were the only judges in the country briefed by the administration on Bush's program. The president's secret order, issued sometime after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, allows the National Security Agency to monitor telephone calls and e-mails between people in the United States and contacts overseas.
Yet another problem in a 2005 warrant application prompted Kollar-Kotelly to issue a stern order to government lawyers to create a better firewall or face more difficulty obtaining warrants.
The two judges' discomfort with the NSA spying program was previously known. But this new account reveals the depth of their doubts about its legality and their behind-the-scenes efforts to protect the court from what they considered potentially tainted evidence. The new accounts also show the degree to which Baker, a top intelligence expert at Justice, shared their reservations and aided the judges.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I can't believe how reckless the left has become.
I said on another thread that it would be less then 24 hours before the leaks started coming
from what I have read, this NSA Terrorists surveillance program was not about law enforcement, it is about monitoring the enemy within
Gamesmanship and the game is too damn dangerous.
There was nothing about the program itself being "shut down"
maybe the nerve gas scare will shake some of these idiots up. although it was a false alarm, it could easily have been real (like the anthrax attacks). maybe they will think to themselves - "the enemy is out there, and they could pull off an attack like this, maybe we better get serious about thwarting it".
LOL!
They'll only get worse. Guaranteed.
And, I am tired of hearing that it's only the "far left" because it's the whole of the GD democrat party.
yup, its them.
Risking the safety of the nation all for the expressed purpose of regaining power. That's what all this is about.
Your an idiot aren't you? No one can be so utterly stupid that they actually think the American people have forgotten 9-11 all ready can they? Are you really such a utter complete moron to think this is a political winning position for the Democrats to run on?
Go for it Twit. Strip the fake masks you assumed after 9-11 and run as the rabid hate American Always gutless Leftists you Democrats really are. It will be that much funnier watching all you Hysteric Leftist losers go on suicide watch in Nov after your Democrat Party heroes lose seats for the 3rd election in a row. What a complete political imbecile you must be.
Expect more leaks in Friday's papers. These loose lipped Senators are as predictable (and about as right) as a broken clock. It's been like the movie "Groundhog Day" since the days before the 2004 election, if not before. Except in this version, the Democrats are playing politics with national security, not trying to get the girl and better themselves.
Be prepared .. we will be hit again
These bleeping morons are doing everything in their power to protect the terrorists
I can't believe those judges shut the program down
On 2nd thought, considering where you keep your brains, you better make sure your Proctologist is on call.
I just saw Upchuck Schumer on O'Reilly saying that he agrees with the NSA intercepts and that Al Quaeda captives be subjected to whatever extremes of interrogation are necessary. Have I been sucked up and transported to some alternative reality or was O'Reilly experimenting with some bizarre kind of mind control?
Another good laugh! You've got real talent for the full-tilt writing style. (It's a genuine compliment, whether you're a spiker or not.)
Schumer always presents a moderate face on O'Reilly's show.
It's ALL play acting.
HAAAAAAA. You really ARE this stupid!!!
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