Bazan, Elizabeth B., and Jennifer K. Elsea. "Memorandum: Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign Intelligence Information." Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 5 Jan. 2006. [Accessible at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/index.html]
After a detailed analysis of "the constitutional and statutory issues raised by the NSA electronic surveillance activity," the memorandum concludes that "the Administration's legal justification, as presented in the summary analysis from the Office of Legislative Affairs, does not seem to be as well-grounded as the tenor of that letter suggests."
Bazan, Elizabeth B., Gina Marie Stevens, and Brian T. Yeh. Government Access to Phone Calling Activity and Related Records: Legal Authorities. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 25 Jan. 2007. [Accessible at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL33424.pdf]
"This report summarizes statutory authorities regarding access by the government, for either foreign intelligence or law enforcement purposes, to information related to telephone calling patterns or practices. Where pertinent, it also discusses statutory prohibitions against accessing or disclosing such information, along with relevant exceptions to those prohibitions."
Block, Robert. "U.S. to Expand Domestic Use of Spy Satellites." Wall Street Journal, 15 Aug. 2007, A1. [http://online.wsj.com]
A decision made in May 2007 by DNI Michael McConnell "greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the ... vast network of [U.S.] spy satellites.... The move was authorized in a ... memo sent to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking his department to facilitate access to the spy network on behalf of civilian agencies and law enforcement." DHS's chief intelligence officer, Charles Allen, "will be in charge of the new program."
Cumming, Alfred. "Memorandum: Statutory Procedures Under Which Congress Is To Be Informed of U.S. Intelligence Activities, Including Covert Actions." Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 18 Jan. 2006. [Accessible at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/m011806.pdf.]
See Scott Shane, "Report Questions Legality of Briefings on Surveillance," New York Times, 19 Jan. 2006. [http://www.nytimes.com]
"A legal analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service [CRS] concludes that the Bush administration's limited briefings for Congress on the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping without warrants are 'inconsistent with the law.'" The CRS memorandum "explores the requirement in the National Security Act of 1947 that the committees be kept 'fully and currently informed' of intelligence activities. It notes that the law specifically allows notification of 'covert actions'" to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate and of the Intelligence Committees, (the so-called Gang of Eight), "but says the security agency's program does not appear to be a covert action program."
Eggen, Dan. "FBI Chief Confirms Misuse of Subpoenas: Security Letters Used to Get Personal Data." Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2008. A2. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
On 5 March 2008, "FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told senators ... that agents improperly used" national security letters, a type of administrative subpoena, "to obtain personal data about Americans until internal reforms were enacted last year."
Eggen, Dan. "FBI Papers Indicate Intelligence Violations: Secret Surveillance Lacked Oversight." Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2005, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
According to heavily censored documents provided to The Washington Post by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which acquired them through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, "[t]he FBI has conducted clandestine surveillance on some U.S. residents ... without proper paperwork or oversight." However, FBI officials argued "that none of the cases have involved major violations and most amount to administrative errors. The officials also said that any information obtained from improper searches or eavesdropping is quarantined and eventually destroyed."
Eggen, Dan, and Dafna Linzer. "Judge Rules Against Wiretaps: NSA Program Called Unconstitutional." Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2006, A1. [http://www.washingtonpost.com]
Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of the U.S. District Court of Eastern Michigan ruled on 17 August 2006 that NSA's "warrantless surveillance program is unconstitutional." Judge Taylor "ordered a halt to the wiretap program..., but both sides in the lawsuit agreed to delay that action until a Sept. 7 hearing.... The eavesdropping program ... allows the NSA to intercept telephone calls and e-mails between the United States and overseas without court approval in cases in which the government suspects one party of having links to terrorism."
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