In the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, an initiative that became known as the Patriot Act saw its creation. Spearheaded by President George W. Bush, the Patriot Act enabled government agencies and agents much looser means of obtaining information and carrying out missions. The FISA courts, clad with concrete walls and windowless rooms deep within guarded government buildings, became the outlet for these actions. Agencies received approval for warrants and wiretaps, among other things, under the federally sealed authority of these courts. These were the channels authorized by the Patriot Act for receiving such approval and warrants. However, as the Patriot Act was set to expire, and members of the United States government sought its re-enactment, an internal investigation was held to gauge the Patriot Act’s effectiveness and legality. Led by Inspector General Fine, government agencies such as the FBI were found to be ignoring the channels provisioned by the Patriot Act in seeking “legal” warrants. Often serving the telecommunication companies with demands for wiretaps sans warrants, civil liberties were put in question and the legality of the governments and the telecommunications actions were beginning to be questioned.

Due to a multiplicity of factors, the major telecommunication companies have long had to comply with and provide access to governmental institutions for wiretaps. Perhaps out of fear or some mutually agreeable terms between the telecoms and the government, the telecommunication companies have allowed access to switchboards, rooms, and equipment. Most notable a few years ago, an ex-AT&T employee who worked out of the San Francisco switching office revealed the truth of a “hidden room” on the sixth floor of the building, a room which was occupied by the United States government, one which required government access to enter, and one filled with routing equipment that fed into the main trunks and switches of public communication lines, directing all traffic to massive main frames within the United States intelligence community for flagging and review. These recent events in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks have created a far more zealous wiretapping campaign both abroad and within the American borders, raising questions as to the legality of such actions and the effectiveness of such intrusions on the fundamental rights to privacy established by the Constitution.

The Patriot Act, FISA Courts, and warrantless wiretappings have been becoming of growing interest and concern to civil liberty groups, Congress, and citizens living within the United States. The actions of the intelligence, surveillance, and policing forces of our government have often been found to infringe on the fundamental rights granted us as American citizens by the Constitution. In internal audits and investigations commissioned by Congress, an Inspector General found that in over 60% of the time a telecommunication wiretap was carried through, no filing had been recorded or permission granted by the FISA court, the channel required by the Patriot Act and various other federal laws to be granted a wiretapping warrant. Telecommunication companies have (be it out of fear, governmental support/funding, or something else) complied for the most part with these federal wiretapping requests. AT&T Wireline department was found to have gone as far to have a secret surveillance room on a floor in their San Francisco switching office that routed all communication traffic through government equipment for post, analysis, storage, recording, and wiretapping. As a result, the government was blatantly recording and having access to any communication traffic they wished, rather than going after, through legal means, one person or phone line of interest or that was under investigation. This clear disregard and apparent illegality is alarming, and raises grave concerns over the operations of this government. Why hasn’t there been more oversight into this facet of government operations. What needs to be done more to protect the freedom of speech and right to privacy? And furthermore, what needs to be done to restore law and order to governmental operations and require legal means of obtaining warrants for wiretappings?

Secondary research material has revealed so far some very interesting points regarding this matter. Some advocates argue that these actions are essential in the ever-present fight on terrorism. Others in disagreement with the practices of the government and telecommunication companies argue that much like the red scare created widespread panic and fear of communistic influence, the war on terror is creating a far too overzealous campaign within the Bush administration and intelligence community of the United States. It took a former AT&T employee of the San Francisco switching office to reveal the installation and operation of this “secret room” that required government granted security authorization to enter (and know of its existence). As a result of this eye opening, news groups have been reporting ever since of the illegal activity as perceived by society of the government. Groups like the ACLU have repeatedly and are continually trying to squash these warrant-less wiretaps and restore civil liberties to Americans.

It is necessary to understand the complexities of the Patriot Act and its provisions, for most in Congress weren’t even aware of such at the time of its passing. My intention is not to present yet another upset American’s viewpoint regarding the matter. My hope is to uncover the way the government is truly operating, the steps they are taking as compared to the steps they should be taking pursuant to the Patriot Act, the Constitution, and numerous other state and federal laws and regulations. Further research into these procedures and processes is required to attain a real understanding of where things are going wrong, which will hopefully lead to subsequent resolutions to these matters. I hope to engage the history of wiretappings, their inherent necessity in crime fighting, with the proper procedures provided by the laws, and argue for and against certain law that may be, to put it plainly, simply far too overzealous in its true intentions. Former U.S. Senator turned Law and Order District Attorney of New York, Fred Dalton Thompson was given a campaign slogan of “Law and Order.” That is what I intend to engage, a balance between law and order, a balance that has clearly yet to be obtained. Combining actual law with internal audits and Congressional reports will be important in gauging how effective these new anti-terror fighting laws have been, and to what extent they have been followed. Societal response is also very important in issues involving telecommunications and wiretappings. Blogs, news articles and investigative reports will serve to integrate this element into my research. If society weren’t at all concerned with this issue, there would be no news or eyebrows raised at the actions of the government and telecommunication companies. There clearly is a sense of concern publicly and within Congress itself, perhaps realizing their mistake post-Patriot Act.

[image via Review Journal and PureGarlic]

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