And Obama is? LOL ...
Yes, according to republican member fo the congressional intel committee and the speaker of the house himself..
Peter King, R-N.Y., Mike Rogers (chairman of the house intel committee) have said that their committee was briefed...Peter King also said that any of the members of congress who claim that they didn't know about it were briefed and could have requested additional information anytime they wanted.
"He's a traitor," Boehner said on ABC's “Good Morning America.” “The disclosure of this information puts Americans at risk. It shows our adversaries what our capabilities are, and it’s a giant violation of the law."
Boehner said there were adequate safeguards for the NSA programs and that the civil liberties of Americans were “absolutely” being protected.
"I've been briefed on all of these programs," Boehner said. "There's no American who's gonna be snooped on in any way — unless they're in contact — with some terrorists around the world."
“There is heavy oversight of this program by the House Intelligence Committee on a bipartisan basis and the Senate Intelligence Committee,” he added. “And that’s why I feel comfortable that we can operate this program and protect the privacy rights of our citizens.”
I think you should read a brief history on the subject so you are up to speed and we don't end up doing a he she said. Note the dates...
Al
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Bush Administration's Warrantless Wiretapping Program
February 11, 2008
President Bush authorized a surveillance program in late 2001, allowing the NSA to monitor communications between the United States and foreign countries without court oversight when a party is believed to be linked to al-Qaeda. Administration officials have recently acknowledged that the NSA program was broader, and intelligence sources have described a vast effort to collect and analyze telephone and e-mail communications that were later scrutinized by the government for desired information. There have been fierce disagreements about the program's legality. Critics say the agency's eavesdropping activities violate the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), when "there is probable cause to believe" that one of the parties is a member of a terrorist group.
Revelations in May 2006 showed that the NSA made an effort to log a majority of the telephone calls made within the United States since Sept. 11, 2001 -- amassing the domestic call records of tens of millions of U.S. households and businesses in an attempt to sift them for clues about terrorist threats.
On Sept. 7, 2006, President Bush defended the controversial program and urged Congress to give him additional authority to continue the warrantless eavesdropping, as part of a series of speeches on the war on terror leading up to the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
On Jan. 17, 2007, the Bush administration announced an abrupt reversal to its policy, agreeing to disband the controversial program run by the National Security Agency that it had staunchly defended, to replace it with a new effort overseen by the secret court that administers the FISA.
On Aug. 6, 2007, President Bush signed into law an update to the FISA that expands the government's power to eavesdrop without warrants on foreign terrorism suspects' communications in the United States. It will expire in six months unless Congress renews it.
During U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey's October 2007 confirmation hearing, his views on warantless wiretapping because a point of contention. Mukasey alarmed many Democrats by testifying that there may be occasions when the president's powers as commander in chief could override a federal law requiring that a special court approve intelligence-related wiretaps, such as those used by the NSA.
As the existing legislation under the Protect America Act nears its expiration date at the end of January 2008, pressure between the White House and Congressional Democratic leaders is heating up. The White House and Republicans want the temporary surveillance law made permanent. But many Democrats, spurred on by objections from civil liberties and liberal groups, reject the administration's demand to add legal immunity for telephone companies. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), has repeatedly asked the White House for an additional 30 days to come up with a new surveillance bill. The White House has threatened to veto the measure.
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Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008
Legislative history
Provisions[ edit]Specifically, the Act: [19]
- Prohibits the individual states from investigating, sanctioning of, or requiring disclosure by complicit telecoms or other persons.
- Permits the government not to keep records of searches, and destroy existing records (it requires them to keep the records for a period of 10 years).
- Protects telecommunications companies from lawsuits for "'past or future cooperation' with federal law enforcement authorities and will assist the intelligence community in determining the plans of terrorists". Immunity is given by a certification process, which can be overturned by a court on specific grounds. [20]
- Removes requirements for detailed descriptions of the nature of information or property targeted by the surveillance if the target is reasonably believed to be outside the country. [20]
- Increased the time for warrantless surveillance from 48 hours to 7 days, if the FISA court is notified and receives an application, specific officials sign the emergency notification, and relates to an American located outside of the United States with probable cause they are an agent of a foreign power. After 7 days, if the court denies or does not review the application, the information obtained cannot be offered as evidence. If the United States Attorney Generalbelieves the information shows threat of death or bodily harm, they can try to offer the information as evidence in future proceedings. [21]
- Permits the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General to jointly authorize warrantless electronic surveillance, for one-year periods, targeted at a foreigner who is abroad. This provision will sunset on December 31, 2012.
- Requires FISA court permission to target wiretaps at Americans who are overseas.
- Requires government agencies to cease warranted surveillance of a targeted American who is abroad if said person enters the United States. (However, said surveillance may resume if it is reasonably believed that the person has left the States.)
- Prohibits targeting a foreigner to eavesdrop on an American's calls or e-mails without court approval. [22]
- Allows the FISA court 30 days to review existing but expiring surveillance orders before renewing them.
- Allows eavesdropping in emergencies without court approval, provided the government files required papers within a week.
- Prohibits the government from invoking war powers or other authorities to supersede surveillance rules in the future.
- Requires the Inspectors General of all intelligence agencies involved in the President's Surveillance Program to "complete a comprehensive review" and report within one year
en.wikipedia.org |
