Understanding Intelligence Surveillance: A FISA Primer

What is FISA? | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and The Court of Review | Related Cases | FISA in the News | Student Discussion Questions

Follow the News for Developments

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush authorized government entities to conduct warrantless surveillance on persons residing within the United States whom the government believes have connections to foreign terrorist organizations.

When the existence of this program became public, civil liberties groups claimed that the President's actions were illegal, e.g., they violated both the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the terms of FISA, as amended. The President responded that he has the inherent authority as Commander-in-Chief (and supported by the Commander-in-Chief Clause of Article II, SS 2 of the Constitution) to authorize such actions in order to protect the welfare of American citizens. In March 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of a variety of persons who claim that the President's actions may be adversely affecting their rights. Check national newspaper archives for developments in cases such as ACLU v. National Security Agency/Central Security Service filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

In the summer of 2006, Congress, with the support of the Executive Branch started working on legislation that would expand the powers of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to give it the authority to rule on the constitutionality of various surveillance activities undertaken for national security purposes. National newspaper archives are good resources for following these issues.