The Constitution and the Bill of Suggestions

Amendment 4 - Search and seizure
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This one seems to have missed the talking heads over the weekend. Remember the uproar when it was revealed that Bush authorized the warrentless wire tapping of US citizens? Well, it ain’t over ‘till it’s over.

According to US News and World Report the same legal opinion cited as justification for warrentless wire tapping of US citizens also applies to physical searches. That’s right, the NSA and FBI rummaging around in homes and offices of US Citizens inside the borders of our country with no warrant, no judge, no court order. To quote a snippet from the article, "They couldn't make it clearer," says (a former Justice Department attorney), "that they are also making the case for inherent presidential power to conduct warrantless physical searches."

At least one attorney defending an alleged terror suspect is convinced his office and home have been searched without his knowledge. In October ‘05 and again in January ‘06 Thomas Nelson complained to the Department of Justice that his home and office had apparently been searched. He was referred to the NSA which was non-communicative so he filed a Freedom of Information Act request on the subject which was denied.

You can read it all here including Nelson‘s letter, the response from the DOJ and the denial of his FOIA request: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060327/27fbi.htm (publish date will be 3/27/06.

When the news of the illegal spying on US citizens first broke we were assured it was only a few very suspicious individuals who had known Al Qaeda contacts. According to the National Security Presidential Directive released last week there are 325,000 names in the National Counterterrorism Center’s database and they are collecting 120 new names every day. At the lowest level the FBI can issue a “letter of interest” to local authorities and have them report on any of those people. Once the “letter if interest” is issued the local authorities cannot divulge to anyone what they are doing.

Bush supporters will tell you that Carter and Clinton both did exactly the same thing. Not so. Both Clinton’s and Carter’s programs specifically cited (50) U.S.C. 1822(a) which states unambiguously that "the physical search is solely directed at premises, information, material, or property used exclusively by, or under the open and exclusive control of, a foreign power or powers."
And
if there is "no substantial likelihood that the physical search will involve the premises, information, material, or property of a United States person."

Translation: You can't spy on US citizens.