First, IANAL. This gets into some interesting legal law. If you are a normal private citizen, wiretapping without the the caller's permission is always a crim

First, IANAL. This gets into some interesting legal law. If you are a normal private citizen, wiretapping without the the caller's permission is always a crime. However, The Government can apparently wiretap if: 1. There is an executive order allowing it from the president directly. This may or may not be a national secret. This may or may not be a 4th amendment violation. But if it's a secret, how would you know whether or not it's a 4th amendment violation? 2. There is congressional authorization (by law) in place that allows the government to perform warrantless wiretaps. 3. There is an existing wiretap warrant in effect that allows the recording of an individual or organization's telephones. This is how the FBI, DEA, etc, get their wiretaps typically. 4. A court has held the wiretapping on each of the three instances above was legal. Edited to add: Before 9/11 the government typically respected the 4th Amendment in day to day operations ("Look before you leap"). After 9/11 the respecting the 4th amendment was seen as "pre-9/11 thinking" and forced a shift to early interception ("Easier to ask forgiveness than permission").