The US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act of 1978 (FISA), which restricts
some government surveillance related to
terrorist investigations, was massaged
considerably during the Millennium rollover
to enable quick and dirty wiretaps
of US residents who would otherwise have
been beyond its authority,
National Commission on Terrorism Chairman
Paul Bremer revealed during
testimony before the Senate Intelligence
Committee last week.

. . .

So while the Commission's report states flatly
that FISA standards had not been lowered during the Millennium madness,
Kayyem's reference to
wiretapping Americans with only vague ties to
terrorist organizations strongly
suggests that they were lowered considerably
to accommodate a twitchy
Clinton Administration, which has promoted
the most dramatic increase in
domestic snooping in US history.

The Register

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), June 12, 2000