[Cobra64]

"...a knowledgeable American official says U.S. intelligence provided London authorities with intercepts of the group's communications."

Bingo! Our "illegal" wiretaps helped stop a major terrorist attack.

[TexasPatriot8]

And that means that I'd rather keep taping their calls, then have thousands of dead Americans and American cities on fire again. End of story. P**s on the ACLU w****s who want to stop something that isn't unconstitutional.

Lone wolf amendment

In 2004, FISA was amended to include a "lone wolf" provision. 50 U.S.C. §1801(b)(1)(C). A "lone wolf" is a non-US person who engages in or prepares for international terrorism. The provision amended the definition of "foreign power" to permit the FISA courts to issue surveillance and physical search orders without having to find a connection between the "lone wolf" and a foreign government or terrorist group.[15]

And Carter and Clinton did it here and no one had a problem with it:

E.O. 12139 - Jimmy Carter's Executive order to provide as set forth in FISA for the authorization of electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes

E.O. 12949 - Bill Clinton's Executive order to provide for the authorization of physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes

And the 4th Amendment clearly is not violated by the NSA wire tapping program. There is probable cause, and it is not involving domestic communications, either the maker or receiver of the call are in other countries, and there is probable cause that they are involved in terrorist acts.

It's so clear. Nothing illegal took place in these wiretaps. But there are thousands of Americans alive today BECAUSE of those wiretaps.