Thank god for the courtshightlight: Judge has ruled NSA eavesdropping program unconstitutional and ordered immediate halt.
Judge's quotes:
The defendants "are permanently enjoined from directly or indirectly utilizing the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) in any way, including, but not limited to, conducting warrantless wiretaps of telephone and Internet communications, in contravention of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Title III," she wrote.
She further declared that the program "violates the separation of powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III."
She went on to say that "The president of the United States ... has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders."Further discussion can be found
here. The entire decision reads like a middle school civics lecture. Guess the current administration skipped those classes in school.
Brief summary and commentary on the Administration's response to the ruling which can be boiled down in
(1) the Judge was appointed by Jimmy Carter; (2) the Judge is African-American and works on "civil rights" matters; (3) she is insane; (4) she does not take terrorism seriously; (5) this is a victory for the terrorist; (6) President Bush should defy the Order. The racist #2 is especially ridiculous. God forbid Gonzales and Snow actually use any, oh, I don't know, legal precedent to argue their case. Oops, that's right, there isn't any.