Reality, Not Rhetoric, On FISA

REALITY, NOT RHETORIC, ON FISA
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Rep Silvestre Reyes (D-TX)]
[Commentary] The congressional testimony this month by former deputy attorney general James Comey called into question the accuracy of everything I had heard before about the so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program. According to Comey, in the spring of 2004 President Bush authorized a program of domestic surveillance even though his acting attorney general was so concerned about the surveillance that he could not in good faith "certify its legality." I believe it was the administration's cumbersome, uncoordinated process and not the statutory requirements that led the president to authorize an end-run around FISA. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will hold hearings on this issue next month and will focus on the following important questions: 1) What surveillance activities has President Bush authorized under the NSA surveillance program disclosed in December 2005? What was the legal basis for these activities, and how did those activities change since the inception of the program? What activities are occurring today? 2) How does the current FISA system operate? Can this system be improved? 3) Are current legal authorities adequate for tracking terrorist communications, or are changes to the law required? 4) Do current and proposed legal authorities adequately protect the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/29/AR200705...
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