The thing is, aside from the effectiveness of, Constitutionality of, and need for this program, the ACLU and CAIR should not have been able to bring the suit, as they were not the aggrieved parties. Unless, say, Nihad Awad can prove that he made a call to get sitoo’s kibbee recipe and then Laura Bush was eating it, CAIR should not have been allowed to proceed with the case.
“Judge nixes warrantless surveillance” from AP:
DETROIT – A federal judge on Thursday struck down
President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program, saying it violated the rights to free speech and privacy, as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit is the first judge to rule on the legality of the National Security Agency’s program, which the White House says is a key tool for fighting terrorism that has already stopped attacks.
“Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution,” Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.
The administration said it would appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
“We’re going to do everything we can do in the courts to allow this program to continue,” Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a news conference in Washington.
White House press secretary Tony Snow said the Bush administration “couldn’t disagree more with this ruling.” He said the program carefully targets communications of suspected terrorists and “has helped stop terrorist attacks and saved American lives.”