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They (courts) may not know about the actions pre-2002 - or post 2002, and there in lies the problem. Let me explain the roots of the FISA court really quick, and please keep in mind the current situation as it pertains directly to the formation of FISA. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act resulted from extensive investigations into domestic intelligence activities by Senate Committees, led separately by Sam Ervin and Frank Church in the 1970s (see the Church Committee report). By the early years of the 1970s, the unpopularity of the Vietnam war and the unfolding Watergate scandal brought the era of minimal oversight to a screeching halt. The Congress was determined to rein in the Nixon administration and to ascertain the extent to which the nation's intelligence agencies had been involved in questionable, if not outright illegal, activities . A series of troubling revelations started to appear in the press concerning intelligence activities . First came the revelations of Christopher Pyle in January 1970 of the U.S. Army's spying on the civilian population [1] and Sam Ervin's Senate investigations that resulted. The dam broke on 22 December 1974, when The New York Times published a lengthy article by Seymour Hersh detailing operations engaged in by the CIA over the years that had been dubbed the "family jewels." Covert action programs involving assassination attempts against foreign leaders and covert attempts to subvert foreign governments were reported for the first time. In addition, the article discussed efforts by intelligence agencies to collect information on the political activities of US citizens. These revelations convinced many Senators and Representatives that the Congress itself had been too lax, trusting, and naive in carrying out its oversight responsibilities.
So, to summerize, there was a failing war that was launched for clearly political reasons, along with the president being involved in highly suspect behavoir, and newspapers published stories about domestic spying. It was proven by the Church Committee that the executive powers were clearly not responsible enought to operate domestic spying, assasination, etc. without judicial approval (checks and balances). Here we are again, 30 years later, having the same problem.
Honestly, I'm exhausted. I'm still worried my response only makes sense to me. Tomorrow I'll give it another shot. Thanks to wikipedia for the above info on FISA and the Church Committee.
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