Constitutional scholars and lawyers have been saying this for quite some time but now that a federal judge has said so, despite attempts by the government to have the case tossed, things should get interesting.
What's particularly nice is that the judge simply didn't buy the "state secrets" argument since Bush has already admitted the existence of the program and enough detail has come out already to make a decision on the legal issues.
But of course it's not over. There will be appeals and other cases are being consolidated for review under one judge out in CA. However, that judge already appears to be on the same page as the judge who made this decision.
It's not surprising the administration has tried so hard to have these cases dismissed even while proclaiming they are legal. Their arguments have little or no basis in the law and once they are defeated by the courts they will have only two options: comply or show their true colors and refuse to comply.
I think they are such zealots that they will simply refuse to comply. Or they can get Congress to change the law before November (as they won't be have such a stranglehold on Congress after the elections - knock on wood) and then hang on to it for dear life, resisting any changes made by a Democratic Congress (if they have the guts to make any changes in the first place - not a certainty).
But this is good news for now!