July 30, 2007

FISA and the Power to Defend from Terror

By Al Johnson
Uncovering terror cells is going to require us to maximize our technological advantages. One obstacle is FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.The New York Times recently revealed that a data mining program was the subject of the legal dispute that led to Albert Gonzales' famous hospital visit to then-AG John Ashcroft.  It was not the Terrorist Surveillance Program; rather, it had to do with the Able Danger data mining operation being conducted by the NSA.  It may have run afoul of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and thus led to a dispute between DoJ and NSA (which comes under DoD) over which of the two entities of the Executive Branch should have jurisdiction over it.  Of course, this jurisdictional dispute would also have serious legal repercussions affecting what information could be collected, by what means, to whom it could be disseminated and for what purposes it could be used. Captain's Quarters had a fascinating post yesterday,...(Read Full Article)