Patriot act/Rovegate Question.....

[JPK]

Could the Justice Department authorize secret wiretaps of White House senior staffers, ie; Rove, Libby, etc.. or otherwise use the powers of that act to surveil them for evidence relating to the Plame investigation? It is after all a matter of national security in a time of war.

[ironman202]

1. what would be the point?

I'm pretty sure any such taps would be detected by the white house...

welcome to DU. JPK are my initials too!

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Welcome to DU. I asked a similar question this week. Someone did point

out there is a small chance some other country has listened in to these very interesting conversations, since bugging each other is common practice.

But as to whether NSA did?..... Me, I wish the secret service guys would tell-all. Surely they have seen and heard some stuff.

[JPK]

3. Re: Welcome.....

I've been a lurker here for a while. I've posted a few times but not too often. But with regards to the Patriot Act, as I may understand it...since it is law, couldn't a grand jury and judge authorize survailance secretly even though it might be of the administration if it bacome a matter of "national security"? Being familiar with the act in only a very cursory way, I thought if a secret hearing were held with a "judge" and was presented with evidence, the judge could authorize surveilance. Oh well....wishfull thinking.

[ironman202]

4. theoretically, yes it is possible

but my point was it would be useless because, I presume, the White House had countermeasures to prevent it's lines from being wiretapped by a GJ, the Russians or whomever...