Did FISA Court’s Sudden Scrutiny Prompt President’s Wiretap Okay

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Justice Department reports show that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had begun to challenge and make “substantive modifications” in federal wiretap requests just prior to President Bush’s secret authorization allowing the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. It said the “unprecedented second-guessing” by the court began in 2001. The court had not rejected or modified any wiretap requests in its first 20 years of operation, the paper said. (12/27/05)