Yahoo! News - Secret Court OKs Broad Wiretap Powers

The ruling was a blow to civil libertarians who say the expanded powers, which allow greater leeway in conducting electronic surveillance and in using information obtained from the wiretaps and searches, jeopardize constitutional rights.

In a 56-page ruling overturning a May opinion by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the three-judge appeals court panel said the Patriot Act gave the government the right to expanded powers.

"We think the procedures and government showings required under FISA, if they do not meet the minimum Fourth Amendment warrant standards, certainly come close," the judges wrote in their ruling, which was partially declassified and published.

This hand-picked right-wing court says anti-privacy laws don't have to obey the Bill of Rights, coming close is good enough. Look for Ashcroft to immediately rush to give FBI agents virtually unlimited authority for wiretaps.