Well, “expand” is probably not a very good term, I think it’s more likely he’s asking for Congress to approve the stuff he’s already doing…

But it’s one more incremental inch towards widespread government monitoring of you and I.

Administration Seeks to Expand Surveillance Law

The Bush administration yesterday asked Congress to make more non-citizens subject to intelligence surveillance and to authorize the interception of foreign communications routed through the United States. Currently, under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, individuals have to be associated with a foreign terrorism suspect or a foreign power to fall under the auspices of the FISA court, which can grant the authority to institute federal surveillance. The White House proposes expanding potential targets to include non-citizens believed to possess, transmit or receive important foreign intelligence information, as well as those engaged in the United States in activities related to the purchase or development of weapons of mass destruction. The proposed revisions to FISA would also allow the government to keep information obtained “unintentionally,” unrelated to the purpose of the surveillance, if it “contains significant foreign intelligence.” Currently such information is destroyed unless it indicates threat of death or serious bodily harm.

Well, at least I’ll give Bush credit for one thing. He’s finally understanding that he might actually have to ask Congress for some authorization of power. But look at what he’s asking about here. People that have no association with a foreign terrorist suspect would become legitimate targets for surveillance. Note that they can be investigated if they might possese “foreign intelligence information”, a phrase which doesn’t included any mention of terrorism. Now, I’m not sure if that was deliberately phrased that way, or was sloppy writing by the author, but that would entail a wide increase in investigative scope. Where could it be used? Maybe someone who might have a connection to a drug dealer could be watched under FISA? Maybe an immigrant from Venezuela that might have information about things going on in the Chavez regime.

This appears to open the door one more step for big brother.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be the Bush administration if he didn’t make the law retroactive to cover past wrongdoing:

And they provide for compelling telecommunications companies and e-mail providers to cooperate with investigations while protecting them from being sued by their subscribers. The legal protection would be applied retroactively to those companies that cooperated with the government after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Yep… Even if I had just cause to sue a telecom company for illegally providing personal data to the government, well— poof!— no crime was committed!

And if that wasn’t enough, our tax-cutting president is— as usual— threatening to veto a bill if it doesn’t include the spending he wants.

The White House, in a “statement of administration policy” sent to the Senate on Thursday, questioned the 4 percent reduction in funding that the intelligence committee applied to national intelligence programs and its threat of prohibiting funding for several classified projects pending reports to the panel.

What sort of Republican will pass along any pork-barrel spending the Congress gives him (such as the Transportation bill he threatened to veto if it was over a certain size, then backed off and signed it), and then when Congress tries to reduce spending, vetoes the bill? Fiscally liberal and socially conservative, that sounds to me like the worst of both worlds for a libertarian.

Hat Tip: A Stitch In Haste