Spy czar urges extension of warrantless wiretap law

SPY CZAR URGES EXTENSION OF WARRANTLESS WIRETAP LAW
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
Under grilling from congressional Democrats on Tuesday, the nation's intelligence chief said he doesn't know how many Americans' phone and e-mail conversations have been inadvertently overheard in the process of foreign-oriented snooping. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has previously said only about 100 Americans have been "targeted" for electronic surveillance, and he emphasized at a hearing Tuesday that none of that eavesdropping has occurred without a court order. Doing so would be illegal, he added. But when pressed by House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and other Democrats to estimate how many Americans who weren't necessarily "targets" have had their communications scooped up through the government's surveillance efforts, McConnell couldn't say.
http://www.news.com/Spy+czar+urges+extension+of+warrantless+wiretap+law/...

* House Committee on the Judiciary
http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=370

* Warrantless Wiretaps Not Used, Official Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/washington/19nsa.html?ref=todayspaper

* Spy chief says wiretap powers needed
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-mcconnell19sep19...

* Surveillance Law Must Protect Privacy and Security - Testimony
Congress can enact legislation that meets the needs of law enforcement for defending national security, while still protecting the fundamental privacy rights of innocent Americans, CDT Policy Director Jim Dempsey told a congressional panel today. In testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, Dempsey identified a balanced approach that Congress could use to replace the overreaching Protect America Act, which was adopted last month and expires next year. CDT also today released a memo addressing the poorly understood concept of "minimization" in the surveillance context.
Dempsey Testimony, September 18, 2007: http://www.cdt.org/security/20070918dempsey-testimony.pdf
Minimization Memo, September 18, 2007: http://www.cdt.org/security/20070917mimization-memo.pdf