US judge dismisses lawsuit against Bush wiretap program

US District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco dismissed a long-running lawsuit seeking to the hold the government accountable for secret, warrantless electronic surveillance conducted in the US for four years after the 9/11 attacks.

Judge Walker ruled that the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and members of its staff lacked the necessary legal standing to bring such a suit. The lawsuit had asked the courts to declare the once-supersecret Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) to be illegal and unconstitutional. But Judge Walker said the group had failed to offer proof that it had been targeted by the wiretap program. Under the program, Bush administration officials bypassed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), in which Congress required the executive branch to obtain a court-authorized warrant from a special high-security court before engaging in surveillance that might include persons in the United States. President Bush authorized the secret surveillance program despite the legal requirements established under FISA. The lawsuit sought a court ruling declaring that the terror surveillance effort violated FISA. It also sought a decision that Mr. Bush’s actions amounted to an unconstitutional usurpation of legislative power by the White House.