Dem challenging Craig posts about FISA

[ProSense]

Privacy Matters: Fixing FISA

Posted October 18, 2007 | 10:18 AM (EST)

The United States needs a Senator like Frank Church once again to restore the original purpose of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

My former boss and mentor, Senator Frank Church, led the Senate investigation of Executive branch abuses of civil liberties back in 1975 - 1976 as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Intelligence.

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FISA established a legal framework for electronic eavesdropping at home, including a special FISA court. It was originally passed to allow the government to collect intelligence involving communications with "agents of foreign powers."

The Bush Administration exploited this narrow exception in the passage of the Patriot Act that allows use of FISA to obtain personal records from many sources including libraries and internet service providers, even when they have no connection to terrorism.

Even worse, the Bush Administration now uses FISA to get around the constitutional requirement of seeking a warrant before it eavesdrops on communications by the NSA.

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