Here's a more in-depth article on the new ruling. This just gets scarier and scarier ... ;~/ e
Justice Department Wins Wiretap Ruling By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, November 18, 2002; 2:41 PM A secretive appeals court ruled today that antiterrorism legislation approved last year gives the Justice Department broad authority to conduct wiretaps and other surveillance on terrorism suspects within the United States. The order by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review represents a legal triumph for Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, who had pushed for the broader powers, and a clear setback for civil libertarians who said the new measures would jeopardize the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens. The 56-page ruling overturned a unanimous decision earlier this year by another secretive body, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees the system by which the FBI obtains surveillance warrants in espionage and terrorism cases. The lower court had rebuffed Ashcroft9s requests for many new powers under the USA Patriot Act, arguing that the government had misused surveillance law in the past and had misled the court dozens of times. But the three-judge appellate panel--hearing its first case in nearly a quarter century--found that the Justice Department9s proposed use of the Patriot Act 3is constitutional because the surveillances it authorizes are reasonable.2 What9s more, the appellate court found, Justice lawyers appear to have been misinterpreting secret wiretap law since the 1980s by construing limitations that did not exist within federal statutes. Many lawmakers and other critics have argued since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon that Justice and the FBI had grown too timid in its pursuit of secret warrants, including the case of alleged terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. Government lawyers wrote in court papers that the lower spy court had 3wholly exceeded2 its authority in refusing Ashcroft9s requests for new powers, arguing that Congress had clearly approved broader surveillance authority in the wake of Sept. 11. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups maintained that Ashcroft9s proposed reforms would impinge on First Amendment and due-process rights by giving the government a greater ability to monitor telephone conversations, read private e-mails and conduct other surveillance. Ashcroft hailed the ruling at a press conference this afternoon, saying it "revolutionizes our ability to investigate terrorists and investigate terrorist acts." Ashcroft also announced a raft of changes now in the works to more aggressively pursue intelligence surveillance, including the creation of a new unit within the FBI to coordinate the use of such warrants. The foreign intelligence court was created in 1978 to oversee intelligence surveillance by the FBI and other domestic agencies, and it is required to sign off on any clandestine monitoring within the United States. The May 17 ruling against Ashcroft was the only time the secretive court has ever publicly issued a joint ruling, and the government9s appeal activated a special appeals court for the first time. The spy court9s unusual rules only give the government a right to appeal, but the ACLU and other groups are exploring other options, officials said. ) 2002 The Washington Post Company
