NPR : Justice Department Offers Legal Reasoning for Surveillance
Morning Edition, February 14, 2006 · Renee Montagne speaks with Steve Bradbury, head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, about the legal justification for the Bush administration’s controversial domestic surveillance program. Bradbury says existing laws allow for the program because it identifies enemies in the ongoing war on terror.
How disappointing when the represetative of our chief legal branch chooses to selectively quote the Constitution. He rightly indicated that the fourth amendment protects us from unreasonable search and seizure. He failed to mention, however, that the fourth amendment is somewhat specific about how to ensure that a search or seizure is reasonable:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
It’s worth reviewing the complete annotations available on that terrorist loving resource, FindLaw.
