Media conservatives wrongly claimed provisions in FISA authorized Bush's domestic spying

Nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh and Bay Buchanan, president of conservative group The American Cause, claimed that Bush's authorization of domestic surveillance by the National Security Administration (NSA) without warrants is legal under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). However, FISA contains provisions that limit such warrantless surveillance to communications "exclusively between foreign powers." Those provisions do not apply to Bush's conduct, as he authorized domestic surveillance of communications between persons inside the United States and parties outside the country. FISA specifically states that the president may authorize electronic surveillance without a court order only if there is "no substantial likelihood" that the communications of "a United States person" will be acquired.
Read more...