The Legal Limits Of Domestic Spying

The ACLU believes that the National Security Agency is engaged in domestic data collection operations similar to the "Total Information Awareness" program that was shut down in 2003. The ACLU's main concern is that American citizens' right to privacy is being secretly violated. But the NSA has stated that it "strictly follows laws and regulations designed to preserve every American's privacy rights under the 4th Amendment to the Constitution." To be sure, the line between protecting national security and preserving civil liberties is more difficult to draw than ever, due in part to advances in technology. Congress and President Bush are currently trying to resolve the debate. The House passed a bill recently limiting the government's surveillance powers, but the President has threatened to veto it. AirTalk guest host David Lazarus talks with a panel of experts including Siobhan Gorman, National Security Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Caroline Frederickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, and Douglas Kmiec, Professor of Constitutional Law at Pepperdine University School of Law about the legal limits of domestic spying.