US judge rules wiretaps illegal
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A secret wiretapping scheme brought in as part of the Bush administration’s war on terror is unconstitutional and must stop, a federal judge has ruled. The programme, approved by President Bush in 2001, allows for the monitoring of millions of US citizens’ phone calls abroad without the need for a warrant.
Civil liberties campaigners brought the case against the programme, which was uncovered by the US media. The White House says the scheme is legal and is seeking an appeal. In her 43-page ruling on the case, Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit said that the surveillance programme violated protections on free speech and privacy.
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