"Bush's NSA policy is neither legal nor necessary. His determination to circumvent FISA is bizarre. The FISA court has granted virtually every warrant ever requested of it, quickly and even retroactively. The court was created to prevent civil liberties abuses by an unchecked executive branch. Last year, Bush defended the Patriot Act by arguing that under law all spying in the U.S. still required a FISA warrant.
Alberto Gonzales, asked at confirmation hearings last January whether the president could authorize warrantless searches of Americans, assured the Senate it was illegal. We now know both men were violating the very law upon which they appealed for our trust."
Fisa allowed the NSA to initiate wiretapping prior to obtaining a warrant. Do you realize the Justice Dept. has not charged a single person in connection with 911?