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Extrajudicially, Bush officials unilaterally gave NSA power to compile millions of emails and phone calls into a database for analysis.
To this day, Obama officials claim no court or judge can challenge them. What they say goes. Governing this way is called tyranny. Imperial arrogance goes its own way. Legal considerations are ignored.
Bush administration officials went all out to keep information on their program secret. At first they succeeded. The New York Times knew about but stayed silent.
In December 2005, that changed. Times writers James Risen and Eric Lichtblau headlined "Bush Lets US Spy on Callers Without Courts," saying:
Post-9/11, lawless spying became policy. In 2002, Bush authorized it by presidential order. Big Brother watches everyone it sets its sights on. So-called threats were invented to justify it.
Today, it's more intensive than ever. After its publication, The Times article went viral. Congressional investigations and lawsuits followed. Two will be argued in weeks. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has its day scheduled shortly.
It's presenting mountains of public information, Washington's own admissions, and evidence from AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein. He revealed blueprints and photographs of NSA's secret room at the company's San Francisco facility.
Three other whistleblowers submitted affidavits. They explain how NSA lawlessly spied on millions of Americans post-9/11. Nonetheless, Obama officials filed a Northern District of California court motion invoking its "state secrets" privilege.
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