U.S. Domestic Surveillance

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FISC - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

FISA (1978) - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This governs the monitoring of phone calls within the United States for national security reasons.

NSA - National Security Agency

DSP- Domestic Surveillance Program, which is also sometimes called the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP)


August 5, 2005: Technology privacy groups challenge DOJ's attempt to listen to passengers' cellphone and computer usage on
airplanes.

October 24, 2005: Electronic Privacy Information Center reveals 18 months of FBI unlawful domestic surveillance after demanding reports under the
Freedom of Information Act.

November 7, 2005: Several US Senators express concern over FBI use of Patriot Act provision allowing access to phone and financial records.

December 16, 2005: New York Times reports that President Bush authorized NSA's warrantless surveillance of international phone calls and emails.

December 21, 2005: FISC judge resigns in protest over NSA domestic surveillance, according to Washington Post report.

December 24, 2005: NY Times reports that NSA has been monitoring international communications at a much larger volume than previously disclosed to U.S. citizens.

December 25, 2005: Senate Judiciary Committee will widen scope of investigation into warrantless domestic wiretapping.

December 30, 2005: DOJ launches probe into the domestic surveillance program's leak.

January 1, 2006: President Bush defends NSA warrantless surveillance program.

January 4, 2006: Vice President Cheney says the surveillance program does not violate American civil liberties and can prevent terrorist attacks.

January 5, 2006: The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee tells Bush that the White House violated the National Security Act by withholding information on its surveillance program.

January 13, 2006: DOJ confirms that Attorney General Gonzales will testify on the legal basis of NSA's warrantless domestic surveillance program.

January 17, 2006: ACLU and others file a lawsuit, asserting First and Fourth Amendment violations by Bush's warrantless domestic surveillance program.

January 18, 2006: White House spokesman calls lawsuit against surveillance program 'frivolous.'

January 19, 2006: Non-partisan Congressional Research Service reports to House Intelligence Committee that the Bush agency's limited briefings on the warrantless surveillance program are "inconsistent with the law."

Also, the Electronic Privacy Information Center sues DOJ, under the federal Freedom of Information Act, to gain access to domestic spying documents, claiming that they should be released in advance of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for February 6.

And, the Justice Department releases a white paper asserting the legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

January 20, 2006: Vice President Cheney defends the NSA's domestic surveillance program in a speech at the Manhattan Institute.

January 23, 2006: President Bush defends the legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program in a speech at Kansas State University, calling the program the "Terrorist Surveillance Program."

January 24, 2006: Attorney General Gonzales states that NSA's domestic surveillance program (or "terrorist surveillance program") is legal, denying that the FISA's requiring warrants to wiretap Americans' homes applies to the program.

January 29, 2006: Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, member of U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, casts doubt on the legality of Bush's domestic surveillance program in the absence of judicial or Congressional authority.

January 31, 2006: Digital free speech group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) initiates a class-action lawsuit against AT&T on behalf of California plaintiffs alleging that the company violated their right to privacy as well as several federal statutes when it allowed the NSA to use its infrastructure to wiretap US citizens.

Also, President Bush defends the legality of the domestic surveillance program during his State of the Union address.

February 2, 2006: The Bush administration declines requests from the US Senate Judiciary Committee to produce classified legal opinions on the NSA's domestic spying program for an upcoming hearing.

February 4, 2006: Republican Senator Pat Roberts states that he strongly supports Bush's domestic surveillance program in a letter to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

February 6, 2006: Senate Judiciary Committee hearings begin, with Attorney General Gonzales testifying that the Bush Administration's domestic surveillance program is legal and essential as an early warning system of terroristic threats.

February 7, 2006: Former President Carter states that Bush's warrantless domestic surveillance is illegal.

February 8, 2006: Heather Wilson, chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence, calls for complete review of FISA's text, requesting an update to account for new technology since its enactment in 1978.

February 13, 2006: ABA calls on President Bush to stop warrantless domestic surveillance or change laws to make it legal.

February 15, 2006: The US Department of Justice opens an internal investigation into its role in approving the domestic surveillance program.

February 16, 2006: US District Judge orders DOJ to produce documents in compliance with request by Electronic Information Privacy Center, including guidelines used by government officials to decide whether to monitor an individual's phone or email communications.

Also, the DOJ sends a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) seeking to dissuade the committee from calling former Attorney General John Ashcroft and Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who was rumored to have questioned the legality of the domestic surveillance program, to testify before the panel, saying their testimony would provide no new information.

February 17, 2006: The Republican leaders of two key Congressional committees say that they would not undertake direct probes of the president's NSA warrantless surveillance program.

February 18, 2006: US Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says to the New York Times that he wants to bring the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program within the authority of the FISC.

February 20, 2006: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) says that existing legislation governing domestic surveillance does not need to be rewritten or updated, adding that the NSA does not need to obtain a court order before engaging in domestic eavesdropping under the domestic surveillance program.

February 27, 2006: Eighteen Democrats from the US House of Representatives send a letter to President Bush calling for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations that the NSA conducted warrantless surveillance of US citizens in violation of the Fourth Amendment and FISA.

February 28, 2006: The New York Times sues the Department of Defense under the Freedom of Information Act for their failure to produce documents regarding the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

Also, the Bush administration rejects the request by a group of 18 House Democrats asking that a special counsel be appointed to investigate NSA spying on people within the United States.

March 3, 2006: US Attorney General Gonzales says that the administration is not conducting any additional warrantless domestic surveillance beyond what President Bush acknowledged in December.

March 7, 2006: US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says that the committee may recall Attorney General Gonzales to testify about the administration's domestic surveillance program after complaints from ranking Democrat on the committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about Gonzales' lack of clarity.

March 8, 2006: Majority Republicans on the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence agree to establish a new seven-member subcommittee to oversee surveillance methods utilized by President Bush's domestic spying program, passing up a proposed full-scale investigation of NSA eavesdropping on US citizens. Democrats claim they were shut out of discussions about it with the White House.

March 8, 2006: DOJ documents released subsequent to a court order reveal that former Associate Deputy AG David Kris expressed reservations about the Bush administration's legal rationale for its warrantless domestic surveillance program.

March 9, 2006: The ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights file motions asking the court to immediately stop the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program.

March 12/14, 2006: A resolution introduced in the US Senate by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) to censure President Bush over domestic spying receives only lukewarm approval from Feingold's fellow Democrats, preventing a floor vote and resulting in referral to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

March 16, 2006: Four Republican Senators introduce a bill that would legalize but limit warrantless domestic surveillance of US citizens by imposing a 45 day limit on wiretapping suspected terrorists without a warrant.

March 25, 2006: DOJ insists on the legality of domestic surveillance in answers to questions from the House Judiciary Committee.

March 28, 2006: Five federal judges appear before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in support of committee chairman Arlen Specter's proposal to require the FISC to conduct regular reviews of the NSA's warrantless surveillance program.

April 6, 2006: US House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) accuses US Attorney General Gonzales of "stonewalling" his committee by refusing to answer questions posed about the NSA warrantless surveillance program during an oversight hearing.

April 27, 2006: US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) says he is considering proposing legislation that would suspend funding for the NSA domestic surveillance program if the Bush administration continues "walking all over Congress."

May 11, 2006: The DOJ ends the internal investigation into the role its lawyers played in the NSA's domestic surveillance program approved by President Bush, stating that it was unable to proceed after having been denied security clearance to access NSA information.

Also, President Bush insists that "the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected" as the government conducts anti-terrorist surveillance in the US, in response to a USA Today report that calling patterns of millions of Americans are being collected and examined by the NSA as part of Bush's domestic surveillance program.

May 16, 2006: FCC chief Michael J. Copps says that the agency should investigate the access to domestic customers' phone records allegedly granted to the NSA by telecommunications giants Verizon, AT&T, and BellSouth.

May 17, 2006: Verizon denies having turned over phone records to the NSA.

May 18, 2006: General Michael Hayden defends the legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program in testimony during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on his nomination as CIA director.

May 23, 2006: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin writes a letter to US Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) saying that the watchdog agency will not investigate the collection of millions of phone records by the NSA.

May 24, 2006: The ACLU files nationally-coordinated complaints against telecommunications companies and the attorneys general of twenty states, requesting investigations into the legality of information sharing between phone companies and the NSA.

May 28, 2006: The DOJ files for dismissal of two lawsuits brought over the NSA's domestic wiretapping program, saying that defending them would require disclosure of state secrets and would be contrary to national security interests.

June 8, 2006: The DOJ says it will seek to dismiss, on state secrecy grounds, 20 lawsuits accusing telecommunications companies Verizon, AT&T, and BellSouth of illegally providing customer phone records to the NSA in conjunction with the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

June 11, 2006: US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) says that he plans to demand hearings and issue subpoenas for telephone company executives to discuss the program of disclosing public calling records to the NSA if the White House fails to cooperate with Congress in devising rules for domestic surveillance.

June 12, 2006: The DOJ argues in court for the first time that the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program is legal.

June 21, 2006: The DOJ files a motion in support of Verizon's petition to consolidate over 20 cases in which the company must defend allegations that it illegally shared customer phone records in conjunction with the NSA's domestic spying program.

Also, the US House Judiciary Committee passes a non-binding resolution asking the President and the Secretary of Defense to provide the House with information on the NSA domestic surveillance program.

July 13, 2006: Sen. Specter tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that President Bush has agreed to sign legislation authorizing the FISC to review the NSA's controversial domestic spying program.

July 15, 2006: Politicians, civil rights advocates, and privacy advocates criticize the recent White House agreement allowing the FISC to determine the constitutionality of the NSA's domestic spying program.

July 18, 2006: US Attorney General Gonzales tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that President Bush put an end to an internal Justice Department investigation into the role DOJ lawyers played in designing the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

July 20, 2006: Proposed FISA changes are debated during a rare open session of the US House Intelligence Committee.

Also, a federal judge rejects a DOJ motion to dismiss on state secrets grounds a class action lawsuit brought against AT&T alleging that the telecommunications giant violated citizens' rights to privacy.

July 25, 2006: Sen. Specter defends his proposal to subject the NSA's domestic surveillance program to review by the FISC, saying that the court is well suited to consider the program because of its "expertise" and security.

Also, the DOJ files a lawsuit to prevent two members of the Missouri Public Service Commission from gathering information about whether Missouri consumers' telephone records were released to the NSA in connection with its domestic surveillance program.

And, a federal judge in Chicago dismisses a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Illinois on behalf of state residents against AT&T for allegedly turning over phone records to the NSA as part of its domestic surveillance program, saying the plaintiffs lacked standing since they had no evidence their records were given to the NSA.

July 26, 2006: During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on adapting FISA to the threat of terrorism, CIA Director Michael Hayden speaks against requiring the US government to show probable cause to obtain warrants to wiretap domestic conversations thought to involve al-Qaeda affiliates, while supporting Specter's controversial bill that would allow the FISC to oversee NSA's domestic surveillance program.

July 27, 2006: Attorneys for the US government and for plaintiffs ask the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate more than 20 cases involving telephone companies' roles in the NSA's warrantless domestic surveillance program.

August 17, 2006: NSA's domestic surveillance program is ruled unconstitutional in a case filed by ACLU, with an appeal by the DOJ pending. The NSA is ordered to immediately stop using warrantless wiretaps to intercept calls by suspected terrorists when one party is outside the U.S.

August 18, 2006: President Bush says he expects that the holding that the domestic surveillance program is unconstitutional will be overturned on appeal.

September 6, 2006: Back from their summer recess, US House and Senate lawmakers begin considering bills that address the legality of the domestic surveillance program.

September 13, 2006: The US Senate Judiciary Committee approves the National Security Surveillance Act of 2006, a bill by committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) that pushes forward Republicans' efforts to confer legal status on the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program.

September 26, 2006: A tentative agreement is made on domestic surveillance legislation after Republican negotiators agree to remove language that would have implicitly recognized the constitutionality of warrantless wiretapping from the National Security Surveillance Act of 2006.

September 28, 2006: US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor rejects the Bush Administration's proposal to continue its domestic surveillance program while her August 17 decision finding the program unconstitutional and ordering its shutdown is being appealed, but does allow the program to continue for one more week to allow the government to contest her refusal before the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

September 29, 2006: The US House of Representatives passes the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act. The bill, approved by the House Judiciary Committee the previous week, specifies when and how the president can order the use of warrantless surveillance.

October 4, 2006: A Federal Appeals Court holds that U.S. government's domestic surveillance program is allowed to continue pending appeal of the August 2007 decision that it is unconstitutional.

November 15, 2006: The ACLU asks the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the lower court ruling that the NSA domestic surveillance program is unconstitutional, arguing that the program is an unconstitutional intrusion on privacy and free speech and oversteps the limits of executive power.

November 16, 2006: US Sen. Specter introduces a new bill, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Oversight and Resource Enhancement Act of 2006, that would authorize domestic surveillance of suspected terrorists, in a last-ditch attempt to push through legislation during the current lame-duck session of Congress.

November 21, 2006: The US District Court for the District of Columbia rules that the NSA can withhold documents and information relating to its Terrorist Surveillance Program requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

November 27, 2006: US Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine launches an internal investigation into the DOJ's use of intelligence gathered under the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

December 5, 2006: DOJ asks Appeals Court to dismiss the lawsuit on the constitutionality of NSA's Domestic Surveillance Program pursuant to the state secrets privilege, additionally claiming that the ACLU lacks standing to bring the suit because it cannot show that its communications were intercepted.

December 6, 2006: FBI Director Robert Mueller refuses to answer questions during an FBI oversight hearing before the US Senate Judiciary Committee about the administration's domestic spying program, saying the information is classified.

January 17, 2007: AG Gonzales announces that FISC will now oversee all wiretap requests, potentially making an appeal of August 17, 2006 decision against DOJ's TSP procedures moot. Gonzales, while maintaining the legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program, announces that the President will not reauthorize the program after its current authorization's expiration but will instead submit all wiretap requests through the FISC.

January 18, 2007: AG Gonzales tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that it is not "[his] decision" whether or not the Justice Department agrees to release the text of the order granted by the FISC authorizing government surveillance of transmissions coming into or going outside of the country where one party was suspected of association with a terrorist organization.

January 26, 2007: The DOJ asks the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to drop the DOJ's appeal of a lower court ruling declaring the NSA domestic surveillance program unconstitutional, saying the lawsuit is now moot since "electronic surveillance not subject to the FISC court" no longer exists.

Also, the US DOJ asks the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Thursday to drop the DOJ's appeal of a lower court ruling declaring the NSA domestic surveillance program unconstitutional.

January 31, 2007: US AG Alberto Gonzales says that the DOJ will turn over to the Senate Judiciary Committee the text of an order, granted by the FISC, authorizing government surveillance of certain transmissions.

February 21, 2007: US District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker issues an order imposing a limited stay on discovery in a class action lawsuit challenging the legality of the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program.

February 28, 2007: The Electronic Frontier Foundation files a complaint against the DOJ seeking the release of a FISC order that authorized government surveillance of transmissions.

April 5, 2007: Mike McConnell, US Director of National Intelligence, delivers a policy address to the 2007 Excellence in Government Conference criticizing federal surveillance laws as outdated and unresponsive to terrorist threats.

April 11, 2007: US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell reportedly circulates proposed amendments to the FISA to respond to FISA's perceived inflexibility and inability to respond to the threat of terrorism.

April 13, 2007: The White House issues a statement strongly opposing the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, threatening presidential veto unless Congress alters provisions which would increase congressional oversight of intelligence activities.

April 14, 2007: The Bush administration officially proposes amendments to the FISA that would subject more people to electronic surveillance within the United States.

May 2, 2007: A report released by the DOJ says that a secret court approved a record number of US government requests to search or eavesdrop on suspected terrorists in 2006.

July 3, 2007: US District Judge Richard M. Berman dismisses a lawsuit brought by the New York Times against the US DOD and DOJ, ruling that the departments were not required to disclose classified records on the government's warrantless wiretapping program.

July 25, 2007: Judge Vaughn Walker of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refuses to dismiss lawsuits brought by several states seeking more information about the administration's domestic surveillance program.

July 27, 2007: FBI Director Robert Mueller contradicts testimony given by US AG Alberto Gonzales concerning dissent within the administration over the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

August 2, 2007: The FISC restricts the government's monitoring of e-mail and telephone conversations of suspected terrorists in foreign countries.

August 4, 2007: The Senate passes the Protect America Act 2007 giving the Executive Branch expanded surveillance authority for six months while Congress works on long-term legislation to "modernize" the FISA.

August 5, 2007: The US House of Representatives votes in favor of the Protect America Act 2007.

August 6, 2007: President Bush signs the Protect America Act 2007, thanking members of Congress for the bipartisan effort but urging further cooperation to "complete comprehensive reforms."

August 9, 2007: In a lawsuit challenging the NSA's domestic surveillance program, the Center for Constitutional Rights asks a federal judge to strike down the Protect America Act 2007 as a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

August 11, 2007: The NYT reports that before passing the Protect America Act 2007, members of Congress were briefed by intelligence officials that intercepts of foreign-based communications had declined to 25 percent of previous levels due to oversight by the FISC.

August 16, 2007: Lawyers representing the Bush administration argue for the dismissal of a class action lawsuit challenging the legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

August 18, 2007: The White House seeks to extend the deadline for compliance with Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenas for materials relating to the Bush administration's proffered legal justification for refusing to comply with earlier Congressional calls for documents on the warrantless domestic surveillance program.

Also, a judge on the FISA court says that the court would consider a motion by the ACLU to release to the public classified rulings on the extent of the US government's wiretapping authority.

August 24, 2007: The NYT reports that US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has confirmed that telecommunications companies have provided vital cooperation to the warrantless domestic wiretapping program and called for Congress to grant immunity from prosecution to the companies that helped in the program.

September 6, 2007: US District Judge Henry Kennedy ordered the FBI, the Office of Legal Counsel, and the office of the AG to submit more information in support of their motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit seeking the release of documents related to the domestic surveillance program.

September 9, 2007: The NYT reports that the FBI relied on telecommunication companies to engage in national security surveillance much broader in scope than previously acknowledged.

September 10, 2007: At a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell urged senators to pass long-term legislation to "modernize" FISA.

September 16, 2007: The Washington Post reports that Asst. AG Kenneth L. Wainstein tells members of Congress that the Protect America Act 2007 will not allow government authorities to conduct warrantless domestic searches.

September 18, 2007: Director McConnell sends a statement to the House Judiciary Committee pushing for new and permanent changes to the Protect America Act 2007.

September 26, 2007: District Judge Ann Aiken rules that two provisions of the Patriot Act that deal with physical search and electronic eavesdropping are unconstitutional.

October 8, 2007: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says the FCC will not investigate allegations that telephone companies handed over customer phone records to the government as part of the domestic surveillance program.

October 10, 2007: The DOJ files notice that it will appeal a district court decision from September that found provisions of the Patriot Act unconstitutional.

Also, President Bush call for Congress to make permanent the expansion of surveillance powers granted in August's Protect America Act, adding that he would not sign any eavesdropping bill that does not grant retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.

October 11, 2007: The US House Judiciary and Intelligence committees vote to advance the Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed and Effective (RESTORE) Act of 2007, which would replace the temporary Protect America Act.

October 16, 2007: Three telecom companies decline to provide information to Congress about the role they played in the NSA's domestic surveillance program.

October 18, 2007: The Senate Intelligence Committee debates a draft bill that would grant immunity from prosecution to telecom companies that assisted in government eavesdropping.

Also, House Democrats withdraw the RESTORE Act of 2007 from the House floor for consideration.

October 23, 2007: US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy and ranking Republican Sen. Arlen Specter send a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding demanding the administration's compliance with subpoenas for information about the warrantless domestic surveillance program.

October 25, 2007: The White House agrees to let Senators Leahy and Specter see classified documents pertaining to the warrantless domestic surveillance program.

October 27, 2007: US Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Constitution does not preclude the president from wiretapping terrorism suspects without a warrant.

November 1, 2007: Asst. AG Kenneth Wainstein, in comments before the Senate Judiciary Committee, repeats several administration demands including a provision granting blanket immunity to telecom companies and the elimination of a proposal to extend the jurisdiction of the FISC.

November 5, 2007: Former AG John Ashcroft says in a NYT op-ed that he supports granting retroactive immunity to telecom companies.

November 14, 2007: The DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility reopens an internal investigation into the administration's domestic surveillance program.

November 16, 2007: The House of Representatives passes the Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed and Effective Act of 2007 without including a provision that would grant immunity to telecom companies.

December 1, 2007: President Bush urges Congress to update the FISA in time to replace the temporary Protect America Act, reiterating his call to include retroactive immunity for telecom companies.

December 11, 2007: The FISC rules against publicly releasing documents regarding the NSA's warrantless domestic surveillance program.

December 18, 2007: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says that a Senate vote on whether to extend immunity to telecom companies would be delayed until after the holiday recess.

January 23, 2008: In a speech to the Heritage Foundation, VP Cheney urges Congress to renew and expand the FISA and to grant immunity to telecom companies.

January 24, 2008: The Senate votes against an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Bill.

January 28, 2008: During his State of the Union address, President Bush calls on Congress to extend the Protect America Act.

Also, the Washington Post reports that President Bush will veto any attempt to extend the Protect America Act that does not include liability protection for telecom companies.

January 29, 2008: The House votes to extend the temporary Protect America Act of 2007 to give the Senate time to pass new surveillance legislation, despite the President’s threat to veto any legislation that does not include immunity for telecom companies.

January 31, 2008: President Bush signs a 15-day extension to the temporary Protect America Act while Congress works on long-term legislation to "modernize" FISA.

February 5, 2008: A letter from AG Michael Mukasey and National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell tells Congress that President Bush will veto any terror surveillance legislation that does not include immunity for telecom companies.

February 12, 2008: The Senate votes in favor of a cloture motion limiting further debate on a bill which would provide immunity for telecom companies.

February 13, 2008: The Senate votes in favor of the FISA Amendments Act, which replaces the temporary Protect America Act in modernizing the FISA and includes immunity for telecom companies.

Also, President Bush urges the House to immediately pass this version of the FISA Amendments Act.

February 18, 2008: Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell tells Fox News that a new foreign intelligence surveillance bill is needed after the expiration of the Protect America Act. The Senate passed the FISA Amendments Act the prior week, but the House had not approved the bill before leaving for recess.

February 23, 2008: In a letter to the House Intelligence Committee, AG Mukasey and Intelligence Director McConnell say that some telecom companies are circumventing wiretapping orders after the temporary Protect America Act expired, causing intelligence agencies to lose vital information.

March 12, 2008: The latest version of the FISA Amendments Act being considered by the US House of Representatives would not provide retroactive immunity for telecom companies.

March 14, 2008: The FISA Amendments Act narrowly passes the US House of Representatives.

March 22, 2008: US AG Mukasey says that he was willing to compromise with Congress on legislation amending the FISA but that the legislature would have to provide a "workable bill".

April 12, 2008: DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff says that DHS will move forward with plans to use spy satellites as part of a domestic intelligence program designed to assist law enforcement agencies.

April 14, 2008: First Circuit Appeals Judge Bruce Selya is designated by US Chief Justice John Roberts as presiding judge of the FISC.

May 1, 2008: The DOJ reports that the number of surveillance and search warrants approved by the FISC increased in 2007 to a record 2,370 warrants.

July 3, 2008: US District Judge Vaughn Walker dismisses a lawsuit brought by an Islamic charity alleging it was the subject of an illegal wiretap by the NSA.

July 8, 2008: President Bush calls on Congress to reject amendments to FISA that would deny telecom companies retroactive immunity.

July 9, 2008: The US Senate votes to approve a bill amending FISA to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies after rejecting earlier in the day three proposed amendments to the bill that would have limited immunity.

July 11, 2008: The ACLU files a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York challenging the constitutionality of the newly-amended FISA.

September 19, 2008: The Electronic Frontier Foundation files a class action lawsuit seeking injunctive, declaratory, and equitable relief from the NSA warrantless surveillance program.

November 2, 2008: The US D.C. District Court orders the DOJ to release legal memoranda relating to the NSA's warrantless domestic surveillance program.

December 15, 2008: Former DOJ lawyer Thomas Tamm tells Newsweek that he blew the whistle on the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program because "it didn't smell right."