BREAKING: Bush spying is unconstitutional

A federal judge in Detroit, Anna Diggs Taylor, has ruled (pdf) that Bush's NSA spying program is a violation of the Constitution (clip right).

Thinkprogress writes:

The lawsuits have alleged that NSA program violated the First and Fourth Amendments, as well as a number of federal statutes, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The defendants included AT&T and the federal government.

It should be noted that the president KNEW this was a violation of the constitution. That wasn't his argument. The argument was that he was given the authority to do so by the AUMF, or the authorization to use military force by the congress.

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold pointed out the obvious, which, given the state of spin, is necessary:

We all want our government to monitor suspected terrorists, but there is no reason for it to break the law to do so. The administration went too far with the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program. Today's federal court decision is an important step toward checking the President's power grab.

Going forward, this decision will be appealed and the spying will likely continue until Judge Taylor's decision is reaffirmed by the 6th Circuit Court. However, legislation like Arlen Specter's pernicious bill which would effectively legalize the president's spying program (as well as retroactively legalize all past spying) are null and void, according to Glenn Greenwald, who has an excellent roundup of the 8 important conclusions from the decision. Greenwald writes:

[A]s of right now, it is illegal, according to this federal court, for the Bush administration to continue to implement its "Terrorist Surveillance Program," and since it is grounded in constitutional conclusions, nothing -- such as Arlen Specter's dreaded bill -- could change that.

Those who disagree with the ruling are already busy attempting to discredit Judge Taylor but they will find it exceedingly difficult to do so given her credentials. Anna Diggs Taylor has...