NSA Wiretaps Found Unconstitutional

From Eweek.com:

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2005330,00.asp


Federal Court Finds NSA Wiretaps Unconstitutional
By Wayne Rash August 18, 2006

A federal judge in Detroit has rejected the Bush administration's argument that the National Security Agency's wiretap program, which has been conducted for nearly five years, is allowed by the U.S. Constitution.
In a sharply worded statement that cites precedents from as far back as the late 18th century, and quotes extensively from the Framers of the Constitution, Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, said: "We must note that the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America, and no powers not created by the Constitution."

The judge rejected the administration's claims that the defendants did not have the standing to sue the government, saying that they had each suffered in their ability to carry on communications protected by the First Amendment. She also rejected the administration's claims that the activity was protected because it was a state secret. She said that the information provided by the President of the United States in a series of public statements about the NSA surveillance program was itself sufficient for the plaintiffs to make their case.