America's Secret Court

In the U.S. federal judicial system, one court alone operates in almost total secrecy, its deliberations and decisions closed to the public. Created in 1978, the eleven judges of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FIS) consider and rule on applications by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance anywhere within the United States.

On December 11, the FIS Court, for only the third time in its history, made one of its rulings public. The 22-page decision refused a request from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) demanding that the Court make public its order authorizing the Bush Administration to expand its program of electronic surveillance to include phone calls and emails of U.S. residents. [Read more...]

Also See:
NSA Has Database of All US Phone Calls: Report
Bush Promises to Continue Secret Eavesdropping
Bush Explains Massive NSA Call Data Collection
Bush Asserts Wiretaps Are Legal (US Politics)