Court Rules NSA Wiretapping Unconstitutional
17 August 2006 10:04 am by Taylor Marsh
This AP article is the starter.
Also see Think
Progress.
Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's opinion is here.
One of the money quotes:
In this case, the President has acted, undisputedly, as FISA forbids.
FISA is the expressed statutory policy of our Congress. The presidential power,
therefore, was exercised at its lowest ebb and cannot be sustained.
Bush was just bitch slapped, which likely means Specter won't be able to do
his run around to get the Bush administration off the hook, also known as his compromise.
Needless to say, the Administration is moving for a stay, and there will be
an appeal. Next stop is the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is conservative. This is the beginning of another fight.
UPDATE (10:26 a.m.): Glenn has an updated analysis up now. Below is part of the ruling. Also, part of the claim on datamining program, which a “very minor part of the case,” according to one of the attorneys involved in the case, was thrown out. I heard this during a conference call with those involved in the case.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants, its agents, employees, representatives, and any other persons or entities in active concert or participation with Defendants, are permanently enjoined from directly or indirectly utilizing the Terrorist Surveillance Program (hereinafter “TSP”) in any way, including, but not limited to, conducting warrantless wiretaps of telephone and internet communications, in contravention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (hereinafter “FISA”) and Title III; “IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND DECLARED that the TSP violates the Separation of Powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III;
“IT IS ALSO ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiffs’ data-mining claim and is DENIED regarding Plaintiffs’ remaining claims;
“IT IS ALSO ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is GRANTED in its entirety.
“IT IS SO ORDERED.”
Get ready for the swiftboating of Ann Diggs Taylor. One thing to note is that Ann Diggs Taylor graduated from “the prestigious Yale Law School in 1957″. Excuse me, but besides being a graduate of Yale Law, you've got to ask yourself how many Black female law graduates there were from Yale in 1957; for that matter, from any lesser law school at that time in this country.
