THE SMOKING GUN HAS AN INTERESTING DOCUMENT on FBI eavesdropping:

It was there that, in February 2000, FBI agents secretly began videotaping Abdel-Rahman’s legal visits (bugging of his telephone calls with lawyers began in June 2000). The eavesdropping was conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which, in the name of national security, authorizes secret electronic surveillance aimed at gathering foreign intelligence. The initial Minnesota warrant came 15 months after the FBI began FISA surveillance on the home telephone of Sattar, whose e-mail and fax traffic was also later intercepted by government agents.

“February 2000?” But wait — I thought that when Ashcroft proposed eavesdropping on lawyer/client conferences it was a threat to freedom without precedent in American legal history! Now we find out that it was being done under Clinton/Reno, too! And nobody’s remarked on it. Go figure.

I guess that the people who were complaining about Ashcroft just don’t read The Smoking Gun. Yeah, that must be it.