In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A. ("almost a parallel Supreme Court")
Source: New York TImes
In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A.
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: July 6, 2013 10 Comments
WASHINGTON — In more than a dozen classified rulings, the nation’s surveillance court has created a secret body of law giving the National Security Agency the power to amass vast collections of data on Americans while pursuing not only terrorism suspects, but also people possibly involved in nuclear proliferation, espionage and cyberattacks, officials say.
The rulings, some nearly 100 pages long, reveal that the court has taken on a much more expansive role by regularly assessing broad constitutional questions and establishing important judicial precedents, with almost no public scrutiny, according to current and former officials familiar with the court’s classified decisions.
The 11-member Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, known as the FISA court, was once mostly focused on approving case-by-case wiretapping orders. But since major changes in legislation and greater judicial oversight of intelligence operations were instituted six years ago, it has quietly become almost a parallel Supreme Court, serving as the ultimate arbiter on surveillance issues and delivering opinions that will most likely shape intelligence practices for years to come, the officials said.
Last month, a former National Security Agency contractor, Edward J. Snowden, leaked a classified order from the FISA court, which authorized the collection of all phone-tracing data from Verizon business customers. But the court’s still-secret decisions go far beyond any single surveillance order, the officials said.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/us/in-secret-court-vastly-broadens-powers-of-nsa.html?hpw
add this (from a couple of days ago):
Chief Justice Roberts Is Awesome Power Behind FISA Court
By Ezra Klein Jul 2, 2013 11:23 AM PT
"The 11 FISA judges, chosen from throughout the federal bench for seven-year terms, are all appointed by the chief justice. In fact, every FISA judge currently serving was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts, who will continue making such appointments until he retires or dies. FISA judges don’t need confirmation -- by Congress or anyone else.
http://www.bloo
mberg.com/news/2013-07-02/chief-justice-roberts-is-awesome-power-behind-fisa-court.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
...it was sarcasm.
- Of course you're right to chastise them for it. Because only 100% Pure and Unadulterated True Cynics like me can get away with that kind of statement without having to use one of these: 
...so was my post. Should I have used ?
I trust in pure and unadulterated true cynicism. I do.
*bows*
- I can only imagine the level of denial that would be necessary to pretend not to understand the implications of all this. Those suffering from denial, please get help.
K&R
You saw right through me. 
Response to kpete (Original post)
Dear Dog, this gets worse every day.
