We now know exactly what happened. NSA will have the tapes.

[grantcart]

25. I have two clients that full time job is to apply for warrants for DHS

if they get a tip that a cartel has a connection in the US and they want to tap the phone this is the path it has to follow

1) Agent Applies for warrant, has to be approved by Customs and Border Protection Federal attorney in that sector

2) Goes to State Federal Attorney for approval

3) Goes to DHS headquarters for Senior Counsel

4) Goes to Attorney General's office

5) Goes to Customs and Border Patrol Counsel General

6) Returned to State Federal Attorney with any amendments

7) Returned to local Customs and Border Patrol federal attorney to submit to the court.

The reason that federal warrants get approved at such a high rate is that at least 7 different highly screened federal prosecutors see it before it goes to the court and they don't like to be criticized for sub standard work so they are very careful about submissions.

Once the wire tap is approved there is a time limit, something like 30 seconds, that the officers can listen to and then have to stop the recording if elements directly related to the warrant are talked about. There are two agents listening and a compliance officer from another agency to observe and make sure the rules are followed.

After another time period (I think it is 5 minutes) they can listen in again for another 30 seconds.

There is a proof, in my humble opinion, that the system is working well and has lots of internal checks and balances and that is under the FISA system there hasn't been a single case of abuse that has been reported. Snowden liked to talk about all of the things that could have happened but couldn't identify a single person who was subjected to arbitrary and unreasonable abuse.

With Trump's election I worry, however, that even the best placed systems can be undermined and you simply have to trust on the professionalism of the career people who have their hands on the buttons.