Like why would the Bush administration not get a warrant for terrorist related
calls? The FISA court seems a rubber stamp outfit where they could get a
warrant for almost anyone in America. It is too easy to do it, so why did the Bush
administration deliberately go around the courts? They have never claimed it
was an oversight. Also, they do not ever do anything without generating some
self-benefit.

When the story broke in 2005, the N.Y. Times said that they had sat on the
story for a year. That would make it a publishable fact -that a widespread communications interception program run by the Bush administration was
operating in (at least) 2003 and 2004 - a time in which there was a closely
contested presidential election in America.

So when all the parties were playing for the highest stakes and the Bush administration
had set up a secret system to tap into all communications between their enemies;
both Democrat and terrorist. And when the "Office of Special Plans" was neck
deep in the murky goings-on about stampeding the country to war in Iraq and
would, necessarily, have to be in the loop for transcripts of all intercepted terrorist
calls. And when all of the OSP and NSA top personnel were deeply involved in
the Bush Presidential campaign, depending on which hat they were wearing on
any given day.

What if transcripts of the Democratic leadership's communications were made available
from the NSA to the OSP/Committee to Re-elect Bush? Not only the strategy, tactics, and timing of the election campaign, but also the smaller, more personal moments that could prove embarrassing if they became public. That might explain some the Democrats half-hearted attempts to bring these scofflaws to heel.