Bush Authorizes NSA Warrantless Surveillance Program

President George W. Bush signed a secret executive order authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct warrantless surveillance of American citizens’ communications, codenamed ‘Stellar Wind’. This program systematically bypassed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), allowing the NSA to monitor phone calls, emails, and internet activity without probable cause or judicial oversight. NSA Director Michael Hayden implemented the program, which monitored thousands of American citizens’ communications without warrants. The authorization exploited post-9/11 national trauma to dramatically expand executive surveillance powers beyond constitutional limits. A 2006 federal court ruling deemed the program unconstitutional, finding it violated both the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches.