David Cay Johnston: Federal And State Wiretaps Skyrocketed In Trump's First Year

[DonViejo]

The number of court-approved federal wiretaps rose 30% during Donald Trump’s first year in office, the latest indicator sign of how his administration is shifting our government from facilitating a healthy society into something closer to a police state.

Not a single wiretap request, federal or state, was rejected by any judge, an annual disclosure report from the federal courts released on Wednesday. Nearly all the taps were of mobile phones.

The report does not include national security intercepts–where, according to a separate report, judges rejected more requests last year than they had, in total, over the 38 years before that.

As for the new wiretapping report, while of 3,813 taps were sought and approved, that almost certainly understates the actual number by close to a thousand. That’s because each year many officials were slow complying with the annual disclosures that Congress requires. Based on reports in the previous decade, which had to be revised because officials were late reporting approved wiretaps, as Congress requires they do annually.

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http://www.nationalmemo.com/federal-and-state-wiretaps-skyrocketed-in-trumps-first-year/

[democratisphere]

1. WTF has happened to America?!

[rurallib]

2. makes a person wonder if any were on political opponents?

I would not be one bit surprised.

[moondust]

3. Let me guess.

Drumpf is fishing for free tips he can use to make money as well as dirt on people he can use as leverage against them to get what he wants.

Police state indeed. You don't give tools like these to morally bankrupt mobsters like him.

[empedocles]

4. Be great if some of those wiretaps were authorized

on 'retiring' Justice Kennedy et al.

[duforsure]

5. Its the tip of the ice burg

And may soon show he's used illegal means to dig up dirt with.