The Genesis of the FISA Act 1978

“We should fight the enemy. We should not fight each other”. (Senator Pat Roberts)
"We have met the enemy and the enemy is us" (Pogo)


In the beginning the Nixon Administration had the right to conduct searches to stop threats to “national security” without any judicial warrants at all. When the Nixon Administrations used government agencies to exercise this right he abused the power to govern by defining American citizens who objected to his policies in Vietnam as “threats to national security”. In the process the Constitution of the United States was violated.

A blatant act committed by one branch of government attempting to suppress the very foundation of democracy i.e. dissent. If government, the government Jefferson had in mind in his Declaration of Independence from tyranny and the government we claim to possess, derives its power to govern from the consent of the governed such a government can only survive as long as the right to withhold that consent exists.

At that time in our history the branch of government that represents the people i.e. Congress had the courage to keep their oath “to support the Constitution of the United States” by exercising their right to impeach Richard Nixon for committing high crimes and misdemeanors when his actions were a threat to democracy. The mantra taken up by mainstream media was that Nixon’s impeachment proved that “in this country no man is above the law”.

In addition Congress created legislation so that the executive branch of government would be less likely to attempt such an abuse of power that threatens the very existence of democracy. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was passed in 1978 to insure Americans would never be subjected to warrantless surveillance. To date the constitutionality of FISA remains in effect.

Today the Bush Administration has been engaged in conducting secret warrantless surveillance without regard for legal requirements set forth in the 1978 FISA ACT. In fact President Bush admits to violating the law and what happens in response is the sound of democracy disappearing when Congress, the branch of government which is supposed to represent the people but more importantly has the responsibility to support the Constitution of the United States, prefers the partisan politics of protecting the commander-in-chief in a time of war over the common good of a people who believe no man is above the law.

The Republican controlled Senate Intelligence Committee recently voted against a formal Congressional investigation of George W Bush’s domestic spying program in absolute disregard of the knowledge that the White House had in fact violated key provisions of FISA.

The Chairman, Senator Pat Roberts from Kansas asked the committee to reject confrontation and accommodate an agreement with the White House to create a subcommittee with broad oversight of NSA’s terrorist monitoring. This shameless display of hypocrisy from a high ranking member of the political party that preaches less government.

Why didn’t the press, indeed the so-called liberal press remind Senator Roberts that we’re not in Kansas anymore? He took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States not an oath to support any man who acts as if he were above the law.

But the failure of the Republican controlled Senate Select Intelligence Committee to investigate actions which violated the law shouldn’t be a surprise to those who still remember that this is the same committee which was supposed to have investigated “whether intelligence was exaggerated or misused” by U.S. government officials, including the President to secure support for war in Iraq.

The Democrats, the party of acquiescence, went so far as to permit the results of this probe to be released after the presidential election to “accommodate” none other than Senator Roberts’ request. Once again mainstream media fails to express any outrage at the suppression truths which may have affected the results of an election. To date the so-called Phase II of the investigation into intelligence matters involving Iraq remains to be released.

In the final analysis both Richard Nixon and George Bush violated the law. Nixon was impeached for his high crimes and misdemeanors by Democrats and Republicans alike back in the day when Congress had the courage to accept responsibility and honor its oath to support the Constitution of the United States.

The high crimes and misdemeanors committed by George Bush are permitted to continue by a Republican controlled Congress and a Democratic Party complicit in its silence as it lacks the courage to acknowledge let alone confront a constitutional crisis created by obscurantists and perpetuated by sycophants of the ruling party who argue that in a time of war the country must rally ‘round the President – even one who fabricated and misused intelligence to wage war.

In the end patriotism once again becomes the refuge of the scoundrel when today’s Congress betrayed the American Revolution for independence from tyranny by asserting men of a particular political persuasion are above the law thus paving the way for the triumphant return of tyranny.