WASHINGTON, 18 August 2006 — In a sharp rebuke to the Bush administration, a federal judge in Detroit ruled yesterday that the government’s wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt, saying the National Security Agency cannot continue to monitor the phone calls and e-mails of millions of Americans without warrants.
The ruling was a setback for the administration, which has defended the program as an essential tool in its war on terrorism.
It was the first federal challenge ever argued against the Bush administration’s NSA spying program. US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor called this an abuse of presidential power, adding: “There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the constitution,” so all the president’s “inherent powers” must derive from the constitution. The government argued that the program is well within the president’s authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets.
Judge Taylor said the controversial practice of warrant-less wiretapping known as the “Terrorist Surveillance Program” violated free speech rights, protections against unreasonable searches and the constitutional check on the power of the presidency.
The program has been widely criticized by civil rights activists and raised concern among lawmakers, including some in President Bush’s own Republican Party.
Bush authorized the NSA program after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, and it became public last year.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs.
