By Cliff Montgomery – Apr. 7th, 2011
Today, The American Spark offers its readers a quick reminder that some of the most sweeping expansionsof federal surveillance power may soon expire.
But those who adore unreasonable searches and seizures have no need to worry. The current Coward-in-Chiefand the group of nuts now running Congress may not be able to keep the government’s doors open, but they’llquickly come together to keep their eyes firmly on you.
Below we offer quotes from a Congressional Research Service study on the matter, which was released lastmonth:
“Three amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) are set to expire (sunset) on May 27,2011. The three sun-setting amendments expanded the scope of federal intelligence-gathering authorityfollowing the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“Two amendments were enacted as part of the USA [ANTI]PATRIOT Act.
“Section 206 of the USA [ANTI]PATRIOT Act amended FISA to permit multi-point, or ‘roving,’ wiretaps byadding flexibility to the degree of specificity with which the location or facility subject to electronic surveillanceunder FISA must be identified.
“Section 215 enlarged the scope of materials that could be sought under FISA to include ‘any tangible thing.’It also lowered the standard required before a court order may be issued to compel their production.
“The third amendment was enacted in 2004, as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act(IRTPA). Section 6001(a) of the IRTPA changed the rules regarding the types of individuals who may betargets of FISA-authorized searches. Also known as the ‘lone wolf’provision, it permits surveillance of non-U.S. persons engaged in international terrorism without requiringevidence linking those persons to an identifiable foreign power or terrorist organization.
“Although these provisions are set to sunset, grandfather clauses permit them to remain effective with respectto investigations that began, or potential offenses that took place, before the sunset date.”
