General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Wow! Look at how "hysterical" and "poutraged" all of DU USED to be... [View all]Ms. Toad
(38,890 posts)information sufficient to warrant a prudent person's belief that the evidence of a crime or contraband would be found with respect to the person's information being sought. It is not a general suspicion that if the FBI was permitted to gather a bunch of data on a bunch of people (most of whom are innocent) that maybe someday they might find some unnamed person who may have done something wrong.
How do you believe that the FBI met that standard against each person for whom data was ordered to be turned over - given that what was ordered was not logging the data from a specific person - but all calls within the United States or between the United States and another country.
Probable cause cannot constitutionally be established to support a general fishing expedition - which is what this was.