NSA Activities

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 Fourth Amendment enshrines warrant requirement that the American colonists demanded from the Framers, following their experience with British occupation. That starting point may seem like a quaint vestige from a far-away past, but when that vestige is translated into abuses of enforcement officers, then the right of all Americans to be protected from arbitrary and unfounded invasions becomes much more than a historical remembrance. The framers of the Fourth Amendment placed a check on the unfettered authority of the state, without probable cause, to conduct a search that had not been tied to the likely commission of a crime. Without the requirement that a search have a nexus to both criminal conduct and to an external authority (judge or magistrate), a soldier, a federal agent, or a policeman, could take unto himself the right to execute what was called in the colonies a "general warrant", which permitted a search of a home for "whatever" evidence that might be found.
The National Security Agency used computers to help monitor all international phone calls and e-mails of Americans in carrying out President Bush's orders to detect Al Qaeda sleeper cells. Computers would automatically search for key words and phrases, as well as other signatures possibly associated with sleeper cells. As part of the statistical analysis, computers would create records that compiled profiles of US persons. All of this activity was under way long before September 11th, with the exception of the creation of records on US persons.
NSA's domestic spying program depends on the cooperation of the nation's telecom companies. A court warrant is almost always required to monitor communications. But under the secret surveillance program authorized by the President, the National Security Agency bypassed the courts to tap telephone calls and intercept e-mails to and from the United States. ( know more at )