The misnamed Protect America Act allows the U.S. government to monitor telephone calls and other electronic communications of American citizens without a warrant. This clearly violates the Fourth Amendment. which states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons. houses. papers. and effects. against unreasonable searches and seizures. shall not be violated. and no Warrants shall issue. but upon probable cause. supported by Oath or affirmation. and particularly describing the place to be searched. and the persons or things to be seized." The Protect America Act sidelines the FISA Court system and places authority over foreign surveillance in the director of national intelligence and the attorney general with little if any oversight. While proponents of this legislation have argued that the monitoring of American citizens would still require a courtissued warrant. the bill only requires that subjects be "reasonably believed to be outside the United States." Further. it does not provide for the Fourth Amendment protection of American citizens if they happen to be on the other end of the electronic communication where the subject of surveillance is a noncitizen overseas. We must remember that the original Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was passed in 1978 as a result of the U.S. Senate investigations into the Federal governments illegal spying on American citizens.
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