Judge Rejects Request for NSA Documents
The National Security Agency is not required to release details about its secret wiretapping program, a federal judge said Monday.
The People for the American Way Foundation, a liberal advocacy group, sued to obtain records under the Freedom of Information Act. The group sought to find out how many wiretaps were approved and who reviewed the program.
President Bush has acknowledged the existence of the program, which he calls the Terrorist Surveillance Program. The National Security Agency monitors phone calls and e-mails between people in the U.S. and people in other countries when a link to terrorism is suspected.
Civil liberties group criticize it as an expansion of presidential power, and a federal judge has said it is unconstitutional. The Justice Department says it is a necessary tool to fight terrorism.
Its good to see a judge slap some of these groups with a little common sense. This judge ruled, rightly in my opinion, that even if the NSA program is eventually ruled illegal that the requested documents are still currently classified and are not covered by the Freedom of Information Act.
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