Oops.
DETROIT – A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government’s warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.
U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency’s program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.
Getting smacked that hard probably hurts, eh?
Both Glenn Greenwald and Eugene Volokh have posted must-read analyses, and Overlawyered also takes a look at the ruling itself.
For those of you who prefer your meat red and your hostility fresh, I recommend here and here.
All in all, a pretty satisfying info-fest.
Update: The Justice Department says it plans to appeal the ruling (duh), and CNN’s bright orange update box says, “Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defends eavesdropping program as effective, adding “We believe that the program is lawful.” (Another duh, this time with an enormous grain of salt.)
Well, at least she waited until after the Brits rolled up that network before shutting this thing down – hopefully it will be allowed to restart before another bunch of terrorists manage to get an op planned.
Of course, we won’t ever know whether or not the NSA program was involved in identifying the group planning the bombings, but we do know the Brits have said they got help from both the US and Pakistan in their intel efforts…
I am glad we didn’t have the FISA courts and Judge Taylor around in the 1940s – else we might all be either goosestepping and speaking German, or worshipping the Son of Heaven and speaking Japanese…
~EdT.
Ed, do you really think there’s some need to dispense with warrants, or legal channels for the NSA program? Seriously?