It's so clearly going to be overturned as soon as it gets to the Appeals Court, or the Supreme Court. I mean, it's been proved that the only calls monitored are ones where at least one of the parties is in a nation that has terrorists in it, and no call monitored has both parties IN the U.S.. And that program is what stopped the five Muslims in Miami last month that wanted to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago. And the head of the program has made it clear that the program has stopped DOZENS of other attacks before they happened. And it's been mentioned several times that it played a hand in stopping the attack that was to take place from Heathrow. All that good it's done, and no ones civil rights violated, and STILL some extremist radical liberal Judge who apparently cares more about not violating rights of terrorists than protecting the general public, says the program has to stop because it's unconstitutional.
I read the U.S. Constitution and its Amendments regularly, and I've not seen any sentence in there that would remotely indicate, even vaguely, that the Government can't monitor communications between either citizen or foreign national in the U.S., and someone in a foreign country, if those communications are believed to be relating to an attack or some other hostile act to be carried out on American soil. I don't understand how people can make decisions so detrimental to their own safety and everyone elses safety, and then be pleased about making them. It's crazy. Oh well, as is usually the case, the media and the libs will hopp and hollar, and then in not too long a time, it will be overturned, and ignored, and the liberals will pretend that it wasn't over turned, or call Bush a Nazi again. They always either do one of those two things. Most Americans don't mind this program since it was made clear many months ago that it never monitors calls made and received both in the U.S.. So this is a really stupid fight for liberals to pick, just like on all other major issues, the Democrats are on the wrong side of the majority of the American people. Stupid liberals. They're going to lose this one too. :)
I read the U.S. Constitution and its Amendments regularly, and I've not seen any sentence in there that would remotely indicate, even vaguely, that the Government can't monitor communications between either citizen or foreign national in the U.S., and someone in a foreign country, if those communications are believed to be relating to an attack...I agree, it's legal to monitor communications, as long as you comply with the law. The relevant law is FISA, which is USC Title 50. Sections 1801-1811 cover electronic surveillance.
If nobody involved is a citizen (or legal permanent-resident alien), then S.1802 allows warrantless monitoring on the USAG's say-so (more or less) for a year.
If there's a reasonable risk one of the parties is a US citizen, then you need to apply for a warrant, under the law. Exceptions exist for 15 days after Congress declares war (no longer applicable) and 'emergency orders' by the USAG who then has to go inform a judge [1805(f)], which I gather they don't do either.
FISA needs updated for today's issues and problems, and the Executive needs to get back to following the law in any event.
--R.