I'm afraid it's not at all about FISA.
It's been bandied about all over that all Bush had to do was to go to a FISA court, even after the fact, and get authorization within 72 hours.
And FISA has only rejected something like 4 or 5 of some 15,000 requests for such a tap. So why didn't he?
And how could this possibly happen? How could we be so exposed to our privacy being infringed upon?
Well, it's because we aren't. FISA only pertains to foreign nationals, and ONLY foreign nationals.
From WIKI:
Electronic surveillance
Generally, the statute permits electronic surveillance in two scenarios. First, the President may authorize, through the Attorney General, the surveillance without a court order where it is directed at the acquisition of "technical intelligence" or the contents of communications of foreign powers (not including terrorist organizations), there is "no substantial likelihood" of a US citizen being party, and the procedures, among other things, minimize the impact on United States citizens.
More after the flip.
Read More