US Spy Court: NSA to Keep Collecting Phone Records

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

A secretive U.S. spy court has ruled again that the National Security Agency can keep collecting every American's telephone records every day, in the midst of dueling decisions in two other federal courts about whether the surveillance program is constitutional.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Friday renewed the NSA phone collection program, said Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Such periodic requests are somewhat formulaic but required since the program started in 2006.

The latest approval was the first since two conflicting court decisions about whether the program is lawful and since a presidential advisory panel recommended that the NSA no longer be allowed to collect and store the phone records and search them without obtaining separate court approval for each search.


In a statement, Turner said that 15 judges on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on 36 occasions over the past seven years have approved the NSA's collection of U.S. phone records as lawful.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/government-moves-appeal-surveillance-ruling-21414572

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. The Supreme Court will eventually rule one way or the other.

Until then, it won't be over.

[cstanleytech]

2. I suspect the court will rule with the NSA atleast as long as its only a database of

the calls made and received plus time stamps though if it was a database of complete conversations they might decide otherwise.

[Thinkingabout]

3. You are probably correct. If there is conversation collected it will be through wiretapping

Warrant on specific phone numbers.

There should be more emphasis placed on background checks to cull out those who can not be entrusted with national security information. More investigation should be placed on Greenwald for having sold information for $250 million. I am beginning to think this was a big push behind this crap.
It has some noise sounds of CT in trying to do harm. All the more reason to never give Snowden clemency.

[blackspade]

6. Making more things up I see

You appear to have no real idea if all of the conversations that the government collects is via a warrant.
I know you want to believe this but unfortunately the documents that Greenwald has reported on show that there has been blanket collection of all call and e-mail content for years.

What in the world are you talking about related to Greenwald selling his info for 250 mil? That is straight out of wingnut-ville.
The founder of e-bay has financed a 250 mil news venture that Greenwald has joined, but there is no indication that Greenwald will not continue to carefully vet stories before releasing them as he has with the rest of the Snowden documents.

And CT? Again, what are you talking about? The only CT going on here is the one you are spinning. I'm waiting for you to anounce that Greenwald and Snowden have founded COBRA and assumed the identities of COBRA Commander and Destro.

The only thing I agree with you on is that there are too many sop-secret clearances floating around.
There are 1.4 million folks with top-secret clearances, one third of which are contractors. I think we could start by cutting the contractors loose and re vet our government clearances.

[Thinkingabout]

7. Did you keep up with events in 2005?

[blackspade]

13. Such as?

There was a lot of sneaky unConstiutional NSA shit that went on in 2005.
Care to be specific on how it relates to my response to your word salad post?

[Thinkingabout]

15. Just as I thought, instead of spending your time in the unknown you should do some research

and determine what was happening eight years ago and then tell me when and where things happened. You jump in and follow a liar and thief and believe everything this CT group tells you but you don't get the real facts.

[blackspade]

18. Seeing as I was here at DU 8 years ago.....

I am aware of the shenanigans the the NSA has been up to.
What specifically are you trying to bring up?
I can't read your mind so you'll have to be more specific.
My guess is you won't though.
And what CT are you referring to?

[Thinkingabout]

19. Perhaps reread your #6 post saying I am not aware of information collected at NSA.

This is old news.

[blackspade]

22. That was not your assertion.

But whatever, I can tell your not interested in a debate, but rather posturing in your defense of the NSA.

I'll move on and have discussions with folks with a reality based understanding of NSA's unconstitutional spying.

Cheerio!

[Thinkingabout]

23. When you do not a firm defense then accepting the truth would be a good thing to do.

[hughee99]

12. Even then, it won't be.

The NSA will make some slight modification to the program and continue it. IF they get caught again, they'll claim that what they're doing isn't the same thing that was declared unconstitutional and the process will start over.

[last1standing]

4. A court loaded with judged appointed by Roberts who was apointed by bush.

What did you think they'd say?

[randome]

16. Well, no one expected Roberts to rule in favor of the ACA, either.

I don't support Roberts. Not at all. Just pointing out that he's not always reliably a Conservative asshole.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"If you're bored then you're boring." -Harvey Danger[/center][/font][hr]

[PSPS]

5. As long as there is a "secretive spy court," this isn't america.

This is how incrementalism has turned a free country into a surveillance police state.

[blkmusclmachine]

8. Change!

[JDPriestly]

9. Of course that court has always stated that the collection is lawful.

The only point of view, the only case that is permitted to be presented in the FISA courts is the case claiming that the NSA's collecting our data is legal.

The FISA court is not adversarial. There is a plaintiff or petitioner asking the court to approve its behavior, but there is no adversary, no one to present the people's point of view, to claim that the collection is illegal. It isn't a trial or an argument. The FISA court is just a rubber stamp.

[randome]

17. Isn't one of the recommendations that an adversarial attorney be utilized?

I bet that one gets implemented.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[JDPriestly]

20. Yes, and yes.

[cvoogt]

10. FOREIGN Intelligence Surveillance Court???? Really??

Maybe they should change their name to Intelligence Surveillance Court.

[wildbilln864]

11. by the people, for the people....

just a quaint saying that means nothing! By the corporations for the corporations on the other hand is the way it works.

[jsr]

14. The NSA rubberstamp is working well

[ucrdem]

21. Somehow I don't think this program is being correctly described in the news stories.

I did a little googling but couldn't find much more than is reported n this article. But if the NSA has such a standing warrant, why would they need the famous Verizon warrant Snowden leaked last May, which was much more limited in its scope?