Every Warrant Submitted by the Feds to Spy on Americans Was Approved

An annual government report showed that every warrant submitted by the Feds to spy on Americans was approved by the secret FISA court in 2011.  The 1,745 total number of applications and warrants approved was a 10.5% increase over 2010. An anonymous counterterrorism official said the increase was "in response to materials seized in relation to the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan and the resulting investigations."

Although the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) is secretive and does not reveal the type of surveillance that was approved, it may be the most transparent surveillance program the Feds admit to.  At least the warrants are issued and can be counted. FISA has only been one of the tools used to spy on the communications of Americans.

Despite Obama's 2008 campaign rhetoric to end the practice of "warrantless surveillance," he not only continued the practice but fought to do so in court in a case where his Administration's only defense of claiming "state secrets" (so much for his government transparency rhetoric too) was slapped down by a judge in 2010. More...