DAVID COLE: Debating Legal Authority for Domestic Spying

But to say that it's an incidental part of the military authorization to start spying on innocent Americans at home without going to a court, and specifically where Congress has said you have no authority, it is a crime to engage in spying on Americans at home, unless you do so pursuant to our specific rules, and we've set out a rule that says only for the first 15 days can you conduct a warrant-less tap, and after that, you have to go through a court.