Weeeeee...

[WillyT]

Domestic surveillance court approved 100% of 2010 warrant requests
By David Kravets, wired.com | Published 4 days ago

<snip>

The secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved all 1,506 government requests to electronically monitor suspected “agents” of a foreign power or terrorists on US soil last year, according to a Justice Department report released via the Freedom of Information Act.

The two-page report, which shows about a 13 percent increase in the number of applications for electronic surveillance between 2009 and 2010, was obtained by the Federation of American Scientists and published Friday.

“The FISC did not deny any applications in whole, or in part,” according to the April 19 report to Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-NV.)

The 11-member court denied two of 1,329 applications for domestic-intelligence surveillance in 2009. The FBI is the primary agency making those requests.

Whether the FISA court, whose business is conducted behind closed doors, is rubber stamping the requests is a matter of debate.

<snip>

More: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/05/domestic-surveillance-court-approved-100-of-2010-warrant-requests.ars

:wtf:

:kick:

[EFerrari]

1. Maybe court's way of encouraging the Feds to use to the court?

:shrug:

[WillyT]

2. Ok... But Then Why Do We Need Warrantless Wire Tapping ???

Hell, FISA has a 100% batting average.

:shrug:

:hi:

[TimLighter]

3. "The FBI is the primary agency making those requests."

Ah ha, explains why Obama want's to extend Mueller by 2 more years, I couldn't figure that out at 1st.

[Arctic Dave]

4. We do not live in a free society. Fuck the rules.

Do as you are told or be put on the list.

[hootinholler]

6. Well where is that list?

If I'm not on it already, I'll sign it personally.

Then do as I please.

-Hoot

[OnyxCollie]

5. Not really surprising.

Since its inception in 1978, the FISA court has approved over 10,000 warrants and denied about five.

What is remarkable is why Bushco chose to break the law and skip the court. Hmm, I wonder why.

Oh, well. Thanks to our courageous Dems, that's water under the bridge.

[mmonk]

7. The Rubber Stamping Crooked Judges of the FISA Court

Speaking of crooked and or crooked-smelling judges, let me leave you with a real-life real-judge of our current Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court:



The judge who presided over the trial of vice presidential aide Lewis Libby has been appointed to the secret court that oversees U.S. intelligence wiretaps. Reggie Walton, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts effective May 19 <2007>.

…
-snip-

What do two of the biggest national-security news stories of the century — the Valerie Plame leak scandal and the legal case of FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds — have in common?

They both are being presided over by the same federal judge in the District of Colombia, Reggie Walton, a Bush appointee to the federal court and a man who appears to have a few well-kept secrets of his own.

http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2011/05/11/the-rubber-stamping-crooked-judges-of-the-fisa-court/