"...in 1977, Mr. Carter and his attorney general, Griffin B. Bell, authorized warrantless electronic surveillance used in the conviction of two men for spying on behalf of Vietnam.
The men, Truong Dinh Hung and Ronald Louis Humphrey, challenged their espionage convictions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which unanimously ruled that the warrantless searches did not violate the men's rights.
In its opinion, the court said the executive branch has the "inherent authority" to wiretap enemies such as terror plotters and is excused from obtaining warrants when surveillance is "conducted 'primarily' for foreign intelligence reasons."
Not surprising. Not at all. Since the advent of modern communications, every President has authorized people to listen in. Wasn't a big deal back in the days when Western Union kept a copy of EVERY overseas telegram to hand to the Feds, and such preventive measures only come under scrutiny when a Republican employs them.
Read the whole deal over at Stop The ACLU.
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