ABA Urges Adequate Judicial Review of Terrorism Wiretaps
The ABA is urging Congress to ensure that legislation extending the government’s wiretap authority in terrorism investigations contains adequate safeguards.
The letter to the chair and vice-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence says the new law should ensure adequate judicial review and congressional oversight.
“Independent judicial review of individualized applications by the government to conduct electronic surveillance within the U.S. should be preserved to the greatest extent possible,” the letter says. “Any new legislation should include appropriate reporting requirements to Congress, such as disclosure of the number of U.S persons whose communications are acquired and/or disseminated.”
The ABA says the law should provide judicial oversight within the framework of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which created a special court to review terrorism warrants.
The Boston Globe makes a similar point in an editorial. It says the FISA law “sets out a flexible process for judicial oversight of taps in which investigators can start a tap and then wait as long as 72 hours before getting a warrant if time is of the essence.”
The Globe editorial expresses concern about a House bill that would allow “basket” or “bundle” warrants for groups of communications. “This provision could be a loophole for overzealous eavesdroppers,” the newspaper says.
The New York Times also weighed in on the legislation in an editorial on Sunday. “Ever since 9/11, we have watched Republican lawmakers help [President] Bush shred the Constitution in the name of fighting terrorism,” the newspaper said. “We have seen Democrats acquiesce or retreat in fear. It is time for that to stop.”
