Wired
The federal government may spy on Americans’ communications without
warrants and without fear of being sued, a federal appeals court ruled
Tuesday in a decision reversing the first and only case that
successfully challenged President George W. Bush’s once-secret Terrorist
Surveillance Program.
“This case effectively brings to an end the plaintiffs’ ongoing
attempts to hold the executive branch responsible for intercepting
telephone conversations without judicial authorization,” a three-judge
panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote. (.pdf)
The case concerned a lower court decision in which two American attorneys — who were working with the now-defunct al-Haramain Islamic Foundation
— were awarded more than $20,000 each in damages and their lawyers $2.5
million in legal fees after a tortured legal battle where they proved
they were spied on without warrants.-[Full Article]
