NSA warrantless surveillance controversy
From Open Encyclopedia
In 2002 the President of the United States, George W. Bush, issued an executive order which authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct warrantless phone-taps of persons who were believed to be linked to al-Qaeda or its affiliates. (The complete details of this authorization are still not fully known). The NSA maintained wiretaps on international communications, including those that included U.S. citizens on American soil. Such spying on U.S persons without the approval of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is believed by many legal experts to be barred under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). While the Bush Administration administration concurs that FISA does typically prohibit domestic surveillance without a warrant, they maintain such surveillance was authorized by the War Resolution following September 11. "Our position is, is that the authorization to use force, which was passed by the Congress in the days following September 11th, constitutes that other authorization, that other statute by Congress, to engage in this kind of signals intelligence."
The 2002 presidential authorization was classified, and thus the program was concealed from public knowledge until December 2005, when it was first reported on by the New York Times, which had somehow known about the program for approximately a year. Public knowledge of this program promptly led to a major national controversy over such issues as:
- The legality of the warrantless wiretaps involving U.S. persons.
- The efficiency of the program, and the legality of the NSA's handing-out the information to the FBI. <ref>{{qif
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- Constitutional issues concerning the authority of Congress and the President's authority as Commander in Chief.
- The possibility this program violates Constitutionally guaranteed rights.
- The right to privacy.
- The legality of the publication of this story by the New York Times, and the potential implications for U.S. national security arising from the disclosure of this highly-classified program.
The New York Times reports
On December 16, 2005, The New York Times printed a story that, under White House pressure and on the authority of an executive order from President George W. Bush, the National Security Agency had been conducting warrantless phone-taps on people in the U.S. calling people outside of the country, in an attempt to combat terrorism. <ref>{{qif
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- Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency, they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic communications.
According to the Times:
- The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted.
On January 1, 2006, The New York Times printed a story revealing that aspects of the program were suspended for weeks in 2004. The Times story said the U.S. Attorney General's office, then headed by John Ashcroft, balked in 2004 when asked to give approval of the wiretaps, and that then Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey "played a part in overseeing the reforms that were put in place in 2004." According to the Times, however, the oversight by the NSA shift supervisor continued to be unfettered by any pre-approval requirement. The story also said that there had been resistance at the NSA to the warrantless wiretapping program. <ref>{{qif
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The Times had withheld the article from publication for over a year. Both editor in chief Bill Keller and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. were summoned by the President and White House officals in order to persuade the paper not to publish the story. The Times ran the story shortly before they would have been scooped by publication of their own reporter's book. The Times ombudsman speculates that the reason the backstory isn't being revealed is to protect sources. <ref>{{qif
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}}</ref> Russ Tice claims he was a source for the story.<ref>{{qif
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According to seven telecommunications executives, it was revealed in February 2006 that the NSA has secured the cooperation of the main telecommunications companies in charge of international phone-calls, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls. Under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), telecommunication companies may only cooperated if a warrant is issued, which was not the case. <ref>“Telecoms let NSA spy on calls,” USA Today, February 2, 2006.</ref>
Congressional opposition to reported events
News of wiretapping without warrants sparked an outcry from the many quarters, including members of Congress representing both major parties, on constitutional grounds.
Senate
Judiciary Committee
On December 19, 2005, a bipartisan group of Senators--Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California, Carl Levin of Michigan, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republicans Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Olympia Snowe of Maine, sent a letter to the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees calling for an investigation into the alleged domestic surveillance. <ref>{{qif
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Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that "there is no doubt this is inappropriate" and referred to the White House program as "clearly and categorically wrong." His call for investigations was echoed by Congressman Rob Simmons (R-CT), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee. "Was the eavesdropping narrowly designed to go after possible terrorist threats in the United States or was it much, much more?" Simmons asked in a statement. In a telephone interview with the Associated Press, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) called the president's remarks "breathtaking in how extreme they were." He added, "If that's true, he doesn't need the Patriot Act, because he can just make it up as he goes along. I tell you, he's President George Bush, not King George Bush. This is not the system of government we have and that we fought for."
On January 15 2006 senator Specter, whose investigation of the warrantless spying program began on February 6, 2006 <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref>, mentioned impeachment and criminal prosecution as potential remedies if President Bush broke the law, though he downplayed the likelihood of such an outcome. Washington Post On January 20, 2006, Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a resolution <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref> "expressing the sense of the Senate that the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which Congress passed to authorize military action against those responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001, did not authorize warrantless eavesdropping on American citizens." He stated, "The resolution I introduce today is intended to help set the record straight. It is an important first step toward restoring checks and balances between the co-equal branches of Government." <ref>{{qif
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On January 23, 2006 Russ Feingold requested that John D. Negroponte, Donald Rumsfeld and Keith B. Alexander document their answers to his questions about data mining. <ref>{{qif
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}} U.S. Sen. Feingold: Statement on the Government’s Possible Data Mining of Americans{{qif
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On February 5, 2006, senator Specter said that he believed the Bush administration had indeed violated the law with its warrantless surveillance program and that its legal justifications for the program were "strained and unrealistic." He further said that the program "is in flat violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act." <ref>{{qif
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On February 6 the Judiciary Committe held an open hearing. Republicans insisted that Attoney General Gonzales not be sworn in, which means that he can't be charged with perjury. Gonzalez argued that the "except as authorized by statute" provision of 50 U.S.C. § 1809(a)(1) meant that, due to the passage of the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, FISA isn't the exclusive means by which warrantless domestic electronic surveillance can be done.<ref>{{qif
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Gonzalez's testimony drew comment from Jimmy Carter who said, "It's a ridiculous argument, not only bad, it's ridiculous. Obviously, the attorney general who said it's all right to torture prisoners and so forth is going to support the person who put him in office." <ref>{{qif
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Intelligence Committee
The Senate Intelligence Committee held a four hour open hearing February 2 2006. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte characterized al-Qaida and its ilk as his "top concern." He said the NSA warrantless surveillance program was crucial for protecting the nation. "This was not about domestic surveillance," he said. FBI Director Robert Mueller, responding to Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), said, "It's not fair to point a finger as to the responsibility of the leak." Michael Hayden stated that NSA capabilities "in a broad sense" were not "immune to this kind of information going out into the public domain." CIA Director Porter Goss told the Committee, "I'm stunned to the quick when I get questions from my professional counterparts saying, `Mr. Goss, can't you Americans keep a secret?" <ref>{{qif
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On February 3, 2006 Pat Roberts, Chairman, said in a letter to the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, "Any exercise of the constitutional authority to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance must comply the the 'touchstone of the Fourth Ammendment' - 'reasonableness.' The terrorist surveillance program authorized by the President more than meets that test." <ref>{{qif
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House of Representatives
Judiciary Committee
On January 10, 2006, John Conyers (D-MI) announced in a press release on his official website that the Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee would hold an informal hearing on the warrantless spying program. <ref>{{qif
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}} Hearing to Demand Details On Bush Spying Program{{qif
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|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref>
On January 20, 2006, the Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee held an informal hearing on the warrantless spying program. They heard the testimony of Caroline Fredrickson of the ACLU, who told them, "The executive power of our country is not an imperial power... The president has demonstrated a dangerous disregard for our Constitution and our laws with his authorization for this illegal program". <ref>{{qif
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|then= [{{{URL|http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_domestic_spying;_ylt=AnKaIFy64bpufwsSqOEsEZWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--}}} {{{Title|Associated Press}}}].
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}}{{qif
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}}.</ref> On that day Conyers also sent a letter to a number of telecommunications companies asking how much they had cooperated with the government. <ref>{{qif
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|then=[http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/letters/telecomspyingltr12006.pdf
|else=
}} "I write to inquire whether your company has allowed..."{{qif
|test={{{URL|}}}
|then=]
|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref>
The Administration's response to the Times report
White House press secretary Scott McClellan refused to comment on the story on December 16, exclaiming "there’s a reason why we don’t get into discussing ongoing intelligence activities, because it could compromise our efforts to prevent attacks from happening." <ref>{{qif
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|else=
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}}.</ref>
The next morning, however, the President gave a live eight-minute television address instead of his normal weekly radio address, during which he addressed the wiretap story directly and confirmed that he had in fact authorized warrantless searches and phone taps. <ref>{{qif
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|else=
}} President's Radio Address{{qif
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|then=]
|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref> He forcefully defended his actions as "crucial to our national security" and said that the American people expected him to "do everything in my power, under our laws and Constitution, to protect them and their civil liberties" as long as there was a "continuing threat" from al-Qaeda. The President also had harsh words for those who broke the story, saying they acted illegally. "The unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk," he said. <ref>{{qif
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}}</ref>
The President's reaction to the disclosure of classified information and his defense of international wiretaps as "crucial" to national security differ with the reassurances he had given the nation, in defense of the USA PATRIOT Act, that Americans' civil liberties were being protected, and specifically that wiretapping was being pursued via warrants under applicable law. For instance, in a speech in Buffalo, NY on April 20 2004, The President said:
- Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution. <ref>{{qif
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|else=
}} President Bush: Information Sharing, Patriot Act Vital to Homeland Security{{qif
|test={{{URL|}}}
|then=]
|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref>
Image:Michael V. Hayden4star.jpg In a press conference on December 19 held by both Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden, the Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence, General Hayden said, "This program has been successful in detecting and preventing attacks inside the United States." Gen. Hayden also commented on the provisions in FISA allowing for emergency authorization by the Attorney General prior to obtaining a warrant. He stated that even an emergency authorization under FISA required marshaling arguments and "looping paperwork around". Hayden also implied that the decisions on whom to intercept under the wiretapping program were being made in real time or near real time by a shift supervisor and another person, but he refused to discuss details of the specific requirements for speed. <ref>{{qif
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}} Press Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden, Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence{{qif
|test={{{URL|}}}
|then=]
|else=
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Beginning in mid-January the Administration campaigned to assert the legality of the program. <ref>{{qif
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}}</ref> Dick Cheney said the program "is fully consistent with the constitutional responsibilities and legal authority of the President, and with the civil liberties of the American people," in a speech on January 19. <ref>{{qif
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|test={{{URL|}}}
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|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref> Also on the 19th, the United States Department of Justice sent a 42 page white paper to congress saying that the NSA program is entirely legal. The white paper restates and elaborates on reasoning Gonzales used at the December press conference when the legality of the program was questioned. <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref> Gonzales spoke at Georgetown University January 24, saying that Congress had given the President the authority to order the surveillance without going through the courts, and that normal procedures to order surveillance were too slow and cumbersome. <ref>Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' speech at Georgetown University January 24 2006.</ref>
After his address to the National Press Club on January 23, 2006, General Hayden answered questions. He said, "Had this program been in effect prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the 9/11 al Qaeda operatives in the United States, and we would have identified them as such." He stressed the respect the NSA has for the Fourth Ammendment, and gave reasons why he was confident the program is legal. <ref>{{qif
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|test={{{URL|}}}
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|else=
}} Remarks by General Michael V. Hayden to the National Press Club{{qif
|test={{{URL|}}}
|then=]
|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref> Also on January 23, 2006, President Bush continued his defense in a speech at Kansas State University, objecting to the term "domestic spying" and adopting the term "terrorist surveillance program" for the first time in reference to the NSA program. <ref>{{qif
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|then=[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060123-4.html
|else=
}} President Discusses Global War on Terror at Kansas State University{{qif
|test={{{URL|}}}
|then=]
|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref> In a speech at the NSA on January 25, 2006, he said, "I have the authority, both from the Constitution and the Congress, to undertake this vital program." <ref>{{qif
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|else=
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|then=]
|else=
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Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court developments
On December 20 2005, Judge James Robertson, one of the 11 members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, created by the 1978 FISA, sent Chief Justice John Roberts a resignation letter from the FISC. The letter gave no reason for Robertson's decision to resign. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Utah, also of the FISC, stated that he was unclear on why the FISC's emergency authority would not meet the administration's stated "need to move quickly", according to a report. He and fellow judges on the court attended a secret briefing in January, called by presiding Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Since only she and her predecessor had been secretly briefed on the program, the rest of the court had presumably been learning about the Bush Administration's warrantless surveillance policy through press accounts. (Judge Kollar-Kotelly had begun lobbying the administation for a briefing disclosing the administration's position on their authority to conduct warrantless wiretapping after Judge Robertson's resignation.) <ref>{{qif
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|else=Judges on Surveillance Court To Be Briefed on Spy Program
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}}</ref> Reportedly, the court was also concerned about "whether the administration had misled their court about its sources of information on possible terrorism suspects . . . [as this] could taint the integrity of the court's work." <ref>{{qif
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Several commentators have raised the issue of whether, regardless how one feels about the authorization issue, FISA needs to be amended to deal with current technology and technical methods of intelligence gathering. For example, see "Fixing Surveillance <ref>{{qif
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}}</ref> and "The Eavesdropping Debate We Should be Having." <ref>{{qif
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}}"{{qif
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|else=
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|else={{qif
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}}</ref> The Administration contends that this is unnecessary. Senator Leahy said about that, "If you do not even attempt to persuade Congress to amend the law, you must abide by the law as written." <ref>{{qif
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|then=U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
|else=
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|then= (February 6, 2006)
|else={{qif
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|then=[http://judiciary.senate.gov/member_statement.cfm?id=1727&wit_id=2629
|else=
}} Statement of The Honorable Patrick Leahy{{qif
|test={{{URL|}}}
|then=]
|else=
}}. Press Release.</ref>
Legal challenges
On January 17, 2006, the ACLU <ref>{{qif
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|then= {{{Publisher|{{{publisher}}}}}}.
}}{{qif
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}}
}}.</ref> and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed separate lawsuits, ACLU v. NSA and Center for Constitutional Rights v. Bush, challenging the legality of the warrantless spying program, with a range of plaintiffs such as defense lawyers, journalists, scholars, political activists, and organizations, including Christopher Hitchens, Larry Diamond, and Greenpeace, who communicate with or travel extensively to Middle Eastern nations. <ref>{{qif
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}}"{{qif
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}}</ref>
ACLU
The ACLU suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan challenging the constitutionality of the "secret government program to intercept vast quantities of international telephone and Internet communications of innocent Americans without court approval". <ref>{{qif
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}}
}}.</ref> The complaint alleges violations of the Separation of Powers and the First and Fourth Amendments. The plaintiffs seek an injunction. Because of the nature of the program, the plaintiffs do not allege any specific instance of harm, but that because of the nature of the plaintiffs' work they have a "well-founded belief that their communications are being intercepted". Among the co-plaintiffs is Larry Diamond who was an advisor to Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority. In a statement, Larry Diamond states that the NSA program which intercepts communications will have a chilling effect on communications to and from the Middle East. <ref>{{qif
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|then= URL accessed on [[{{{Date|January 31}}}]]{{qif
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}}
}}.</ref>
CCR
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) suit was filed in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. <ref>{{qif
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|2={{{Title|{{{title|}}}}}}}}
|then= [{{{URL|http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/legal/govt_misconduct/docs/NSAcomplaintFINAL11706.pdf}}} {{{Title|Center for Constitutional Rights}}}].
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}}
}}.</ref> CCR said, "Given that the government has accused many of CCR's overseas clients of being associated with Al Qaeda or of interest to the 9/11 investigation, there is little question that these attorneys have been subject to the NSA Surveillance Program. The Center filed today's lawsuit in order to protect CCR attorneys' right to represent their clients free of unlawful and unchecked surveillance." <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref>
EPIC
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) also filed a lawsuit over the warrantless domestic spying program, two days after the lawsuits filed by the ACLU and the CCR. <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref> sued under the Freedom of Information Act to force the government to divulge information about the spying program. <ref>{{qif
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}}</ref>
EPIC has obtained the first Freedom of Information Act documents released by the National Security Agency on its controversial surveillance program. The documents, which are internal messages (pdf) from the agency's director to staff, defend the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping and discourage employees from discussing the issue with the news media. (Jan. 4) <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref>
Ali al-Timimi
Jonathan Turley, who is representing Ali al-Timimi (convicted of soliciting others to levy war against the United States), persuaded the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to halt appellate proceedings January 24 2006. The appellate court is considering whether to send the case back to the trial court to discover if NSA warrantless surveillance was used to monitor Ali. If it does, Turley said, "the government would have to establish whether Dr. Al-Timimi was intercepted under this or any other undisclosed operation, and the court could have to look at the legality of the whole operation." <ref>{{qif
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}} </ref>
EFF
AT&T has been named a defendant in a class action lawsuit that claims the telecommunications company illegally cooperated with the National Security Agency's secret eavesdropping program. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T on January 31, 2006, saying AT&T's alleged cooperation violates free speech and privacy rights found in the U.S. Constitution and also contravenes federal wiretapping law, which prohibits electronic surveillance "except as authorized by statute." <ref>{{qif
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}} </ref> The lawsuit alleges that AT&T Corp. has opened its key telecommunications facilities and databases to direct access by the NSA and/or other government agencies, thereby disclosing to the government the contents of its customers' communications as well as detailed communications records about millions of its customers, including the lawsuit's class members. <ref>{{qif
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}} </ref> Complaint was filed in the U.S District Court, Northern District of California <ref>{{qif
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}} </ref>
Legal issues
There are a number of legal issues surrounding the surveillance without warrants controversy. Some have suggested that President Bush, in authorizing such surveillance, is in violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Constitution. President Bush, however, has claimed authority to approve the NSA program under the September 18, 2001 Congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force and under his inherent powers under Article II of the Constitution.
Legality of warrantless surveillance
The debate surrounding President Bush's authorization of warrantless surveillance is principally about the extent of the authority the executive branch derives from its constitutional and statutory authority to protect the nation from attack and its relation to restrictions imposed by FISA. The legal community is split; some lawyers believe the ultimate issue of legality is largely unknowable until the full details of the NSA surveillance operation are known; others, like Harold Koh, dean of Yale Law School, and Suzanne Spaulding, former general counsel for the Intelligence Committees of the House and Senate, argue that FISA clearly makes the wiretapping illegal<ref>{{qif
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}}</ref>; and still others, like John Schmidt, former Associate Attorney General, <ref>{{qif
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|then= [{{{URL|http://www.gop.com/media/PDFs/122105ICYMI4.pdf}}} {{{Title|apparent GOP copyright violation}}}].
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}}.</ref> and Douglas Kmiec, chair of Pepperdine Law School, argue either that Congress implicitly authorized an exemption to FISA or that FISA cannot bind the president in a time of war; see "Other legal analysis" below.
Still others, including K.A. Taipale of the World Policy Institute and James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation <ref>{{qif
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}}"{{qif
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}}</ref> and Philip Bobbitt of the University of Texas Law School <ref>{{qif
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}}</ref>, have suggested that, regardless of how one feels about this important Constitutional power issue, FISA itself is no longer adequate to deal with certain technology developments, particularly the transition from circuit-based communications to packet-based communications and needs to be amended. (See also, The Eavesdropping Debate We Should be Having <ref>{{qif
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}}</ref>).
The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act defines the Justice Department's authority to conduct physical and electronic surveillance for "foreign intelligence information". FISA provides two mechanisms to perform searches. First, FISA authorizes the Justice Department to obtain warrants from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) up to 72 hours after the beginning of the eavesdropping. In this case, FISA authorizes a FISC judge to grant an application for the electronic surveillance if "there is probable cause to believe that… the target of the electronic surveillance is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power." 50 U.S.C. §1805(a)(3). Second, FISA permits the President to authorize the Justice Department to conduct foreign intelligence surveillance for up to one year without a court order. 50 U.S.C. §1802(a)(1). <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref> In this situation, the surveillance must be directed solely at communications used exclusively by foreign powers, not U.S. persons. FISA provides for both criminal and civil liability for intentional electronic surveillance under color of law but not authorized by statute. FISA defines a "foreign power" as a foreign government, any faction(s) or foreign governments not substantially composed of US persons, and any entity directed or controlled by a foreign government. FISA limits its use against US persons who are citizens, foreign resident aliens of US corporations. Finally, FISA applies to surveillence whose significant purpose must be for gathering foreign intelligence information, which is information necessary to protect against actual or potential grave attack, sabotage or international terrorism.
Executive orders by previous administrations including Clinton's and Carter's authorized the attorneys general to exercise authority with respect to both options under FISA. <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref> <ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref> These legal and constitutional orders were exercises of executive power under Article II consistent with FISA. In Clinton's executive order, he authorizes his attorney general "[pursuant] to section 302(a)(1)" to conduct physical searches without court order "if the Attorney General makes the certifications required by that section".
However, the authorization granted by President Bush to the NSA apparently uses neither FISC approval nor the one-year foreign surveillance authority granted by FISA. Instead, the administration argues that the power is granted by the Constitution and by a statutory exemption, as is advocated by the Unitary Executive theory using the interpretation of John Yoo et al. Case law supports the idea that the President has the "inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information." Article II of the Constitution of the United States of America makes the President Commander in Chief with the responsibility to protect the Nation. This authority extends to the "independent authority to repel aggressive acts... without specific congressional authorization" and without court review of the "level of force selected." Campbell v. Clinton, 203 F.3d 19 (D.C. Cir. 2000). Whether such declarations apply to foreign intelligence has been examined by few courts.
In 2002, the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (Court of Review) met for the first time and issued an important foreign intelligence opinion, In Re Sealed Case No. 02-001. The Court of Review examined all the significant appellate decisions. They noted all the Federal courts of appeal having looked at the issue had concluded that there was such constitutional power. Furthermore, if there was such power, "FISA could not encroach on the president's constitutional power." However, In Re Sealed Case "[took] for granted" that these cases are correct. Furthermore, professor Orin Kerr argues that the part of In Re Sealed Case that dealt with FISA (rather than the Fourth Amendment) was nonbinding dicta and that the argument does not restrict Congress's power to regulate the executive in general.<ref>{{qif
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}}.</ref>
Even assuming the President has no authority under Article II of the Consitution, the President's decision may nevertheless be protectible under FISA. Following the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). Section 2(a) of the AUMF authorized the President to "use all necessary... force against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the [9/11] terrorist attacks." Under FISA, this provides for two basic legal arguments. First, FISA allows for both physical searches and electronic surveillance without a court order for fifteen days after a declaration of war by Congress. 50 U.S.C. §1811. Several cases, including Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld v. Padilla, have construed the AUMF as a declaration of war-at least, insofar as it authorizes war against Al Qaeda and its agents—although the language it uses also has notable differences with prior declarations of war. In this case, 50 U.S.C. §1811 may permit some level of surveillance. The meaning of 50 U.S.C. §1811 is somewhat ambiguous as to