Bush spying program “captured what are purely domestic communications in some cases, despite a requirement by the White House that one end of the intercepted conversations take place on foreign soil, officials say.” Former NSA director Hayden, two days ago: “I can assure you, by the physics of the intercept, by how we actually conduct our activities, that one end of these communications are always outside the United States.”

“My own judgment is that — it didn’t seem to me, anyway, that it would have been that hard to go and get the warrants [through FISA]. And even in the case of an emergency, you go and do it [begin surveillance]. The law provides for that. And three days later, you let the court know what you have done, and deal with it that way.” From an interview with George Stephanopoulos featured on ABC’s “Nightline.”

Batten down the hatches.

“A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush’s secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources. … Two associates familiar with his decision said yesterday that Robertson privately expressed deep concern that the warrantless surveillance program authorized by the president in 2001 was legally questionable and may have tainted the FISA court’s work.” (via Atrios)

“[Attorney General] Ashcroft argued as a senator that there should be no Big Brother police state on e-mails, even with the most heinous crimes,” Drudge recently told Radar magazine. … “So to hide behind the World Trade Center to start going into our hard drives is a complete folly, and the Bush administration will pay the price with votes.”