PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

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Judge Posner’s Troubling Call for Massive Surveillance

Government Surveillance Richard Posner

Judge Richard Posner has written an op-ed in the Washington Post today where he calls for a massive program of surveillance of U.S. citizens — their email, documents, phone conversations, nearly everything they say or do — regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing or not. Posner’s argument is quite startling and troublesome. Posner […]

Hypothetical: What If President Bush Were Correct About His Surveillance Powers?

Surveillance

There’s been some terrific analysis in the blogosphere about whether President Bush is correct that he had the power to authorize warrantless surveillance. (See here and here for a roundup of posts.) The arguments thus far focus on what the President has already done, but the President has stated that he will continue the warrantless surveillance [link no longer available] […]

Beyond His Power: Bush’s Authorization of Warrantless NSA Surveillance

Surveillance Government

In this post, I aim to explore more in depth whether Bush had the legal power to authorize warrantless NSA surveillance. As I was putting the finishing touches on this post, I noticed that Orin Kerr beat me to the punch, and I find that we’ve identified the same issues and are in substantial agreement. His post […]

Did Bush Have the Legal Authority Under FISA to Authorize NSA Surveillance?

NSA Surveillance

Yesterday, I blogged about a startling story in the NY Times about President Bush’s authorizing the NSA to conduct domestic surveillance without a warrant or even a court order. According to the NY Times story, the “legal opinions that support the N.S.A. operation remain classified.” Today in the NY Times is a follow-up story about the legal basis for the […]