Austin Eichelberger B5 Erin Rogers U of U Writing 1010

The NSA and the Governments, Constitutionality

News about the NSA (National Security Association) is sweeping across the nation and the rest of the world. They have been listening in on our phone calls, reading our emails, and just flat out spying on the citizens of US (NBC News). Recently it has also been discovered that they have been spying on our allies such as England, Australia and many other countries (NBC News). The NSA has upset much of the nation it is accountable to and many of the allies of that nation (NBC News). The American people have more than just a right to be upset about this. However, The NSAs spying program is just one program in a long line of programs and acts that the government has created that are against the constitutional rights of the citizens of the United States of America and if we let it continue our privacy may not exist. The Constitution of the United States of America states that,
[It is the] right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Amendment IV

However, the NSA has been searching anyone they wish without telling them, without affirmation or oath, and without probable cause. Also, they break constitution law on the subject of the first amendment, Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ...
(Charters of Freedom, Amendment I) The NSA breaks the constitution and therefore the supreme

law of the land again because it can silence, edit, and abridge the freedom of speech of American

Austin Eichelberger B5 Erin Rogers U of U Writing 1010

citizens in order to insure that what they are doing remains a secret (Socialist Worker). However, the NSAs program is not the only government program breaking constitutional law. The slippery slope of the federal government stealing our rights started with our 37th President, President Richard M. Nixon. Richard Nixon used the CIA and the FBI to monitor his adversaries stating that he was looking for foreign troublemakers (Andrew Napolitano). While he was bugging the other parties meeting rooms, the white house, etc. this was overlooked. It was overlooked because in this period of time in the United States, the red scare was going on. This meant many people in America were afraid that communists in league with the Soviet Union might be infiltrating the country. The Red Scare created the perfect time period for Richard Nixons excuse and many people looked the other way due to fear of communism. In response to this the American Government created a new way for Richard Nixon and anyone else to search for communists or any foreign spies. In 1978 Congress enacted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which prohibited all domestic surveillance in the U.S., except if authorized by a judge based on probable cause of crime, or if authorized by a judge of the secret FISA court (Andrew Napolitano). Also, if it were not considered probable cause previously it was now because the judges of the FISA court decided to included the suspicion of the person(s) in question of being of an agent for a foreign power as probable cause (Andrew Napolitano). To make things worse, FISA later added that someone who was foreign or suspected of being a foreign person counted as probable cause. The federal government has made many applications for surveillance through the FISA court and 99 percent have been granted not unconstitutionally but through the FISA court (Andrew Napolitano).

Austin Eichelberger B5 Erin Rogers U of U Writing 1010

After the events of September 11th 2001 occurred, the Patriot Act was put into action. The Patriot Act was made to help the federal government and the authorities find potential terrorists. This act did more than that though. In the name of stopping terrorism in the Untied States, the Patriot Act made it so they can write their own warrants if they have reason to believe that one is communicating with a foreign person (Andrew Napolitano). This made it even easier for the federal government to gain the right of surveillance and now also the right of search and seizure. The Patriot Act has lowered the bar once again for what allows the federal government to spy on American citizens. The Constitution states that the government has to meet certain requirements for search and seizure. FISA had already lowered those requirements from probable cause to probable cause that they might be a foreign agent, then to probable cause that they might be a foreign person. But the Patriot Act lowered the bar even further to the government having reason to believe they are or might be communicating with a foreign person breaking constitutional law once again (CCAPA). Like Richard Nixon the NSAs director has an excuse to justify what they are doing. The NSAs spying is to stop terrorism abroad. In fact, the NSAs director Keith Alexander has stated that the NSA has stopped 50 terrorist attacks in 20 different countries (Socialist Worker). However, they and the government have also stated on multiple occasions that they were not collecting data on the American people and The NSA has never given any proof to back that up for obvious reasons and Alexander has not given anything to back up his statement as well (Socialist Worker). Instead he chooses to state time and time again that he is preventing another 9/11 also with no proof its actually happening.

Austin Eichelberger B5 Erin Rogers U of U Writing 1010

The federal government has a long disturbing history of breaking constitutional law and spying on people using different organizations, programs, and acts. The NSA is recording phone calls of American citizens because they might be terrorists. The FISA court allows the government to gain search and seizure warrants based on the suspicion that they might be communicating with a foreign person. The government continues more add more and more things they count as probable cause for their use. The NSA spying is continually encroaching on American peoples constitutional rights like Richard Nixon, FISA, and the Patriot Act before them.

Austin Eichelberger B5 Erin Rogers U of U Writing 1010

Works Cited: Mitchell, Andrea, and Erin McClam. "US coping with furious allies as NSA spying revelations grow." NBC News, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. <http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21209499-us-coping-with-furious-allies-as-nsaspying-revelations-grow?lite>.
U.S. Const., amend. IV

The Charters of Freedom. U.S. Goverment, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html>. The Charters of Freedom. U.S. Goverment, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html>. Napolitano, Andrew. The NSA Scandal Violates the Lessons of Our History and Our Constitution. reason.com, 13 June 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://reason.com/archives/2013/06/13/the-nsa-scandal-violates-the-lessons-of>. Give us your rights and no one gets hurt. SocailistWorker, 19 June 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://socialistworker.org/2013/06/19/give-us-your-rights-and-no-one>. Militia News. Ed. Andrew Napolitano. N.p., 28 Sept. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.militianews.com/the-fisa-court-is-unconstitutional/>. Head, Tom. About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://civilliberty.about.com/od/historyprofiles/tp/Worst-Presidents-Ever.htm>. The "Second" Red Scare. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://iws.collin.edu/kwilkison/Resources%20for%20Students/redscare.html>. Patriot Act vs. Constitution. CCAPA, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.scn.org/ccapa/pavs-const.html>. USA Patriot Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/patriot/>.

Austin Eichelberger B5 Erin Rogers U of U Writing 1010