New law may go far beyond wiretapping

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Broad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include - without court approval - certain types of physical searches of U.S. citizens and the collection of their business records, Democratic congressional officials and other experts said.

Administration officials acknowledged they had heard such concerns from Democrats in Congress recently and that there is a continuing debate over the meaning of the legislative language. But they said Democrats are simply raising theoretical questions based on a harsh interpretation of the legislation.

They also emphasized that there will be strict rules in place to minimize the extent to which Americans will be caught up in the surveillance.

The dispute illustrates how lawmakers, in a frenetic, end-of-session scramble, passed legislation they may not have fully understood and may have given the administration more surveillance powers than it sought. It also offers a case study in how changing a few words in a complex piece of legislation has the potential to fundamentally alter the basic meaning of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a landmark national security law. Two weeks after the legislation was signed into law, there is still heated debate over how much power Congress gave to the president.

It is possible that some of the changes were the unintended consequences of the rushed legislative process just before this month's congressional recess, rather than a purposeful effort by the administration to enhance its ability to spy on Americans.

Big Brother.