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Originally Posted by jseal
I get the impression that you think that U.S. law enforcement officials can search our homes and computers without a warrant.
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"Can", as in "have the ability to"? (The actual definition of "can") Yes, they can.
"Can", as in "is it legal for them to do so"? No, they can't.
"Can" as in, "do they do it anyway"? Yes, they do. If one believes otherwise, one is delusional. But:
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Originally Posted by jseal
I believe that is very much the exception rather than the rule.
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So, in your particular case, you're not delusional: but I majorly disagree with the rarity of these incidents. I believe it's done routinely.
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Originally Posted by jesal
I am not suggesting that wiretaps and searches cannot take place, only that a court must issue a warrant before they can legally occur.
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But only in some cases. And the cases where this is the situation are gradually being eroded in the name of fighting "terrorism".
You must remember that this is coming from an administration that:
1. Has directly lied about the origins of said terrorism.
2. Manipulated intelligence information, both for the purposes of starting a foreign war, and for domestic political purposes.
3. Directly lied about and fabricated said intelligence information.
4. Has allegedly set up secret prisons to hold indefinitely, without charges, and without notification of the the International Red Cross, the families of those incarcerated, or any watchdog group, people arbitrarily designated as "illegal combatants".
5. Has introduced legislation to secretly designate US citizens as "terrorists" or "illegal combatants", hold them indefinitely, without charge, and deny them access to legal representation and deny them access to the "evidence" against them if and when the powers-that-be do decide to conduct a "trial".
6. Is directing the NSA, the FBI, the Dept of Homeland Security, and other law enforcement agencies to conduct wholesale interception and recording of US citizens communications, hoping to somehow catch terrorists by keying in on certain arbitrarily-designated "key" words or phrases.
Given all this, warrantless, illegal wiretaps are somehow limited or the exception?
No way.