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Gold9472
01-06-2006, 08:15 PM
Nonpartisan arm of Congress says wiretaps may be illegal

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Nonpartisan_arm_of_Congress_says_wiretaps_0106.htm l

Actual Report
Click Here (http://rawstory.com/other/pdfs/NSAtapsrawstory.pdf)

1/6/2005

A 44-page nonpartisan Congressional Research Service report on whether President Bush had the legal authority to impose surveillance on international calls without consulting Congress found that Bush's claim of executive power was not "well grounded" in law, RAW STORY has learned.

The report, issued Thursday, offers the strongest indication to date that secretive National Security Agency spying conducted in the wake of Sept. 11 was illegal. It was prepared by legislative attorneys at the nonpartisan research arm of Congress.

It noted that Congress has had an active role in regulating surveillance, and was unlikely to inherently defer to the executive branch.

"The history of Congress’ active involvement in regulating electronic surveillance within the United States leaves little room for arguing that Congress has accepted by acquiescence the NSA operations here at issue," the report said.

“It appears unlikely that a court would hold that Congress has expressly or impliedly authorized the NSA electronic surveillance operations here under discussion," it added.

The attorneys said the spying's legality is specifically tied to whether the authorization for war inherently validated the President's order.

“Whether such electronic surveillances are contemplated by the term “all necessary and appropriate force”...turns on whether they are... an essential element of waging war,” the report said.

It did, however, suggest that some courts might have allowed the move.

“Court cases evaluating the legality of warrantless wiretaps for foreign intelligence purposes provide some support for the assertion that the President possesses inherent authority to conduct such surveillance,” the report asserted.

Ultimately, however, the report said it was impossible to determine the legality of the taps without access to classified information surrounding the decision.

“Whether an NSA activity is permissible under the Fourth Amendment and the statutory scheme outlined above is impossible to determine without an understanding of the specific facts involved and the nature of the President’s authorization, which are for the most part classified,” it concluded.