Judge orders halt to Bush wiretapping plan

The White House on Thursday suffered another major blow in its strategy for the "war against terror" when a federal court ruled that its controversial warrantless eavesdropping programme was unconstitutional.

Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ordered the Bush administration to immediately stop the so-called "Terrorist Surveillance Programme", which she said violated the rights to free speech and privacy. She added that the programme also contravened the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires the government to obtain a warrant from a special intelligence court before it can intercept communications of Americans.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the decision was "a landmark victory against the abuse of power that has become the hallmark of the Bush administration".

"Government spying on innocent Americans without any kind of warrant and without Congressional approval runs counter to the very foundations of our democracy," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, which brought the lawsuit against the government.

President George W. Bush authorised the eavesdropping programme after the September 11 attacks on the US. The highly classified programme allowed the NSA to intercept the international phone calls and emails of Americans with links to suspected terrorists.

The White House argued that Mr Bush had the authority to authorise the programme, saying it was a crucial tool in the "war on terror". But Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, and many Democrats criticised Mr Bush for not seeking Congressional approval.

Judge Taylor rebuked Mr Bush in her ruling, writing: "It was never the intent of the Framers [of the Constitution] to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregarded the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

"There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution".

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There ya go, George-me-lad.

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