John Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer appointed by Bush who was centrally involved in crafting the administration's legal strategy in the war on terrorism, declined to comment on the NSA program. But in 2003 congressional testimony, Yoo seemed to support such broad surveillance when he said: "It appears clear that the 4th Amendment's warrant requirement does not apply to surveillance and searches undertaken to protect the national security from external threats."
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U.S. Spying Is Much Wider, Some Suspect
The Nation
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday December 28, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 40 words Type of Material: Correction
Domestic spying -- An article in Sunday's Section A about the National Security Agency's domestic spying activities said an FBI "data mining" program called Carnivore was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was created in June 2000.
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Yoo also said that the 4th Amendment protects against "unreasonable" searches and seizures, not all of them.
On Friday, Yoo said he still holds that position: "I believe that the 4th Amendment itself allows the government to conduct warrantless searches that are 'reasonable.' "
The NSA's wholesale collection of signals intelligence overseas has given the Bush administration some of its biggest successes in the war on terrorism.
U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that NSA intercepts were instrumental in capturing such high-value Al Qaeda chieftains as Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi Binalshibh, who had both boasted shortly before their capture in 2003 of being masterminds of the Sept. 11 attacks. NSA intercepts also placed Osama bin Laden at the battle of Tora Bora in Afghanistan.
