Wiretapping

1
Wiretapping

• Warrantless Wiretapping Legitimate Tool against
  Terrorism or Violation of Privacy Rights?
• Recently it was disclosed that the U.S.
  Government (USG) has been engaging in warrantless
  wiretapping against U.S. citizens.
• This was revealed by the New York Times in
  December 2005.
• Immediately a firestorm of controversy broke out.
• On the con side, many people said that it was a
  violation of civil liberties, the right of
  privacy. This included several members of
  Congress.
• On the pro side, others defended the
  administration, stating that the warrantless
  wiretapping is a legitimate tool to fight
  terrorism.

2
What is behind this controversy?

• From 2002 on, based on an Executive Order by
  President Bush, the National Security Agency
  (NSA) was conducting warrantless phone taps on
  people in the U.S. calling overseas, in an
  attempt to combat terrorism. NSA monitored
  international phone calls and emails of 100s or
  even 1000s of people to track dirty numbers
  linked to Al Qaeda.
• Then, on January 15 Senator Specter (Republican
  chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee),
  mentioned impeachment and criminal prosecution as
  potential remedies if President Bush broke the
  law. He scheduled hearings for February 6.
• .
• The Administration was not long in responding.
  President Bush stated he would do everything in
  his power, under our laws and Constitution, to
  protect the American people from the continuing
  threat of Al Qaeda.

3

• The issues revolve around the Constitution
  itself, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
  Act (FISA).
• FISA has both criminal and civil liability for
  intentional electronic surveillance under color
  of law but not authorized by statute.
• The legal community is split as to whether FISA
  has been violated.
• The authorization by President Bush to NSA
  bypasses the wording of FISA, but relies on the
  Constitution and case law.
• The Constitution, Article II, states that the
  President is Commander in Chief, with the
  responsibility to protect the nation.
• The question then becomes whether this rule
  apples to foreign intelligence.

4
The Student Poll

• Do you believe that under the U.S. Constitution
  right to privacy, the Government should be able
  to wiretap anyone, any time just in case they
  might be into terrorism?
• Do you believe that under the U.S. Constitution
  right of privacy, the Government should only be
  allowed to wiretap using a court order?
• Do you believe that under the U.S. Constitution
  right of privacy, the Government should only be
  allowed to wiretap if there is probable cause AND
  using a court order?
• If the Bush Administration violated the law in
  its recent warrantless wiretapping case, should
  the President be impeached?
• I planned to ask the poll questions to a random
  group of Roosevelt students, with equal numbers
  of black and white, male and female. There were
  12 students from each of the categories.
• My prediction was that students as a whole would
  be more against the wiretapping than the general
  public so far. Of that group, blacks would be
  more suspicious than whites of the Government,
  and women would be more suspicious than men and
  thus against warrantless wiretapping.

5
The Results of the Poll

• As to question 1, only 3 individuals, 2 white
  males and one white female, answered yes. These
  individuals would completely disregard the
  Constitution and trust the Government to never
  abuse the right to wiretap people. None of the
  blacks agreed with question 1.
• As to question 2, there were 2 white males, 3
  white females, and 4 each black males and
  females. This group would not even allow limited
  wiretaps for terrorism unless a court ordered it.
• For question 3, the results were the same as
  question 2. Thus, it is apparent that the group
  believed that a court order would only be issued
  if there was probable cause. However, the FISC
  court issues wiretap orders without actual
  probable cause. This fact is not well known by
  the populace. Therefore, this question should be
  drop from the poll.
• Finally, for question 4, 4 white males, 5 white
  females, 6 black males and all 8 black females
  thought that Bush should be impeached if he broke
  the law with wiretapping.
• Overall, the results of the poll showed that
  blacks are far more suspicious than whites about
  Government wiretapping, even if it is supposed to
  be against terrorism. It appears that the blacks
  believe that even if there is terrorism, the
  Government will abuse the right to wiretap
  without any protections, such as probably cause
  and a court order. They take a far more
  restrictive view of the Constitution than many
  whites, many of whom seem to think the
  Constitution can be relaxed in times of danger
  from the common enemy. Women also seemed to be
  somewhat more restrictive than males in
  preventing wiretapping.

6
Conclusion

• Even though most people have not analyzed the
  issue in depth, most people support the idea that
  courts should be involved in approving
  wiretapping, even against terrorism. This
  follows the basic rules of our Constitution.
  Students seem to be more suspicious of the Bush
  Administration than the public at large, and
  among them, blacks are more suspicious than
  whites.

7
Work Cited

• Cscsbio (2006). Poll Mist Uneasy About Bush's
  Wiretrapping. http//www.tpmcafe.com/node/26533
• Submission (2006). Coastal Post Online. New Zogby
  Poll Shows Majority of Americans Support
  Impeaching Bush for Wiretapping.
  http//www.coastalpost.com/06/02/13_.html
• Angus Reid read global (February 14, 2006). Angus
  Reid Consultant. Polls Show Mixed Feelings on
  U.S. Wiretaps. http//www.angus-reid.com/polls/ind
  ex.cfm