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Letter From DNI Mike McConnell On FISA Reform
 
August 7th, 2007 - In response to a great deal of confusing rhetoric about the recently-passed update to the Foriegn Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Protect America Act of 2007 (S.1927), Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has written a letter to the Senate explaining what the new law does and the reasons it was required.



Director McConnell wrote in part:

As I noted in my testimony on May 1, 2007, but lost in some recent discussion of this issue, the fundamental fact is that the Act is aimed at restoring the effect of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) drafted in 1978. FISA, based on the technology of 1978, specifically excluded from its scope certain types of international communications carried by radio and satellite. Today, many of those same communications are now transmitted by different means. This change in technology resulted in requiring, in a significant number of cases, that the Government seek court orders to monitor the communications of foreign persons physically located in foreign countries. To be clear -- the Intelligence Community was diverting scarce counterterrorism analysts who speak the languages and understand the cultures of adversaries to compiling lengthy court submissions to support probable cause findings on an individualized basis by the FISA Court in order to gather foreign intelligence from foreign terrorists located overseas. This is an unacceptable and irresponsible use of Intelligence Community resources.

Director McConnell's full statement can be found here.