Fergie's Tech Blog

Secret Memo Raises New Questions on Domestic Spying

Justin Rood writes on ABC News' "The Blotter" Blog:

Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the Bush administration concluded constitutional protections against unreasonable searches did not apply if they were done as part of “domestic military operations,” the Wall Street Journal reports this morning.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which unearthed that tidbit, called it a "radical interpretation" of the Fourth Amendment. A Justice Department spokesman said the administration has since changed its thinking on the matter. However, the legal reasoning was in place from 2001 until possibly as late as 2006, the Journal says.

The reasoning is contained in a still-classified 37-page memo dated Oct. 23, 2001, from the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel. Another document, recently obtained by the ACLU, mentioned the October 2001 memo’s findings on the Fourth Amendment.

That secret memo has appeared before, however.

posted by Fergie @ 4/03/2008 11:43:00 AM