Newsweek: Bush admin hoping wiretapping reversal will get critics off their backs

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16689462/site/newsweek/page/2/

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However, a law-enforcement official familiar with the issue indicated that investigators seeking to monitor a suspected Al Qaeda message will now have to demonstrate to a foreign-intelligence-court judge that there is “probable cause” to believe that one of the parties to the message is connected to Al Qaeda. The official indicated that it might be possible, under the new setup, for authorities to eavesdrop first and seek permission later, if time is critical. That isn’t new. The existing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows law enforcement or intelligence officials to conduct emergency surveillances without advance court permission provided that a court order legalizing the monitoring is obtained within a few days. Administration officials indicated they still are likely to ask Congress for possible changes to the current FISA law so that it is easier to get permission to conduct emergency eavesdropping.

The court order could remove a major point of friction between the White House and Capitol Hill on intelligence issues. In the last few weeks, congressional leaders have indicated that NSA warrantless surveillance ranked high among their investigative priorities, along with interrogation and detention practices used by the CIA and other antiterror agencies. Some on Capitol Hill still intend to do just that. In a written statement, new Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller questioned why the administration did not seek court approval from the outset for its anti-Al Qaeda monitoring program. Now that he has more power to extract those answers, he’s not about to drop the issue quietly.