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I hear this a lot, what is the basis of considering the FISA court merely a rubber stamp? Is it the approval rate? Is it the lack of transparency? If it's the

by arkem 11y ago

I hear this a lot, what is the basis of considering the FISA court merely a rubber stamp? Is it the approval rate? Is it the lack of transparency? If it's the approval rate, in my experience the reason why court warrant approvals are so high is because intelligence / law enforcement are very risk adverse and will not submit requests that are likely to be rejected. Anecdotally, the officers I talked to considered it career poison to submit a request that got rejected by a court.

noir_lord 11y ago
In 35,000 requests, they denied 12. Either the NSA is really accurate or something smells.
- arkem 11y ago
  I think it shows that they have an excellent understanding of their authorizing legislation. It also reflects that unlike other types of warrants the court can request revisions or additional information before making a decision and requests can be withdrawn before a formal rejection can take place. Some estimates put the reject/withdrawal rate closer to 25% Some more information: https://newrepublic.com/article/115257/fisa-warrants-court-tougher-media-says https://newrepublic.com/article/115257/fisa-warrants-court-t... https://web.archive.org/web/20140402093319/http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/courts/fisc/honorable-patrick-leahy.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20140402093319/http://www.uscour...
arkem 11y ago
tehwebguy: I'd prefer if you replied to me in a separate post rather than editing in a reply to your post. It makes it hard for me to respond. In a way I'm heartened by stories about NSA employees acting inappropriately, it means that they're being caught and disciplined and the Office of the Inspector General is doing its job. If it was routine and accepted it wouldn't be a newsworthy story and the inspector general. That said, I don't think employee abuses have much bearing on the effectiveness of the FISA court as a source of judicial oversight for intelligence operations inside the United States.
Findeton 11y ago
Haven't you read about Snowden? All communications are recorded. All of them. Right now.

by arkem 11y ago

noir_lord 11y ago

In 35,000 requests, they denied 12. Either the NSA is really accurate or something smells.

arkem 11y ago
I think it shows that they have an excellent understanding of their authorizing legislation. It also reflects that unlike other types of warrants the court can request revisions or additional information before making a decision and requests can be withdrawn before a formal rejection can take place. Some estimates put the reject/withdrawal rate closer to 25% Some more information: https://newrepublic.com/article/115257/fisa-warrants-court-tougher-media-says https://newrepublic.com/article/115257/fisa-warrants-court-t... https://web.archive.org/web/20140402093319/http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/courts/fisc/honorable-patrick-leahy.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20140402093319/http://www.uscour...

arkem 11y ago

tehwebguy: I'd prefer if you replied to me in a separate post rather than editing in a reply to your post. It makes it hard for me to respond. In a way I'm heartened by stories about NSA employees acting inappropriately, it means that they're being caught and disciplined and the Office of the Inspector General is doing its job. If it was routine and accepted it wouldn't be a newsworthy story and the inspector general. That said, I don't think employee abuses have much bearing on the effectiveness of the FISA court as a source of judicial oversight for intelligence operations inside the United States.

Findeton 11y ago

Haven't you read about Snowden? All communications are recorded. All of them. Right now.