Foreign Intelligence Surveillance in the United States: Update

In July 2008, Congress enacted legislation -- the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 -- which amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. This article examines the background of the legislation, including the secret implementation by President Bush following the terrorist attacks of September 11 of what came to be called the Terrorist Surveillance Program, the ensuing legal and constitutional challenges to the President’s Program, and the decisions and actions of individuals involved in defending the TSP and in responding to calls to rectify alleged weaknesses in the system of foreign intelligence surveillance established by FISA. The article concludes with a critique of the new legislation and a discussion of the legal challenges it is likely to elicit.