And on a practical level, the judge has no way to know that the DOJ is lying to him. He has "certified statements" from the top dogs that all is on the up and up. The DOJ/FBI learned long ago how to pattern the warrant requests so as to get past the judge; and the judges are pleased that the FBI/DOJ is following the pattern dictated by the judge. On paper, everythig is sworn true and fits the pattern. It's bulletproof, on paper.
SCOTUS doesn't care. This is petty political crap. SCOTUS has major social engineering projects on its plate.
Yep.
We need to be aware that USSC Chief Justice John Roberts has single-handedly picked all of the eleven current federal district court judges who make up the FISA court.
http://www.fisc.uscourts.gov/about-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-court