I don’t remember ever knowing there was a Secret Court.
The FISA court was formed as part of the Patriot Act. It was widely discussed at the time (2001), but could've been missed in the welter of everything else that was happening at the time.
12 years ago:
To: Registered
Keep in mind that the new law’s definition of “domestic terrorism” is so broad, as we shall see in future columns, that entirely innocent people can be swept into this surveillance dragnet.
President Hillary would like to know which of you have friends in the NRA, or the pro-life movement, so your communications can be monitored by the CIA, for the children.
I guess we’re all OK with Echelon, Know Your Customer, and National ID cards now as well. If you have nothing to hide...
This Patriot Act stinks to high heaven. If you don’t think this will eventually (if not currently) be used to stifle political dissent in this country, you are mistaken.
15 posted on 11/28/2001 7:05:56 AM by dead
Nope. Way before that.
The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) is a U.S. federal court authorized under 50 U.S.C. S: 1803, Pub.L. 95-511, 92 Stat. 1788, enacted October 25, 1978. It was established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA).
Ummmm. The Patriot Act made use of the already existing FISA Court.
The FISA Court has been around since the post-Nixon era.