How did the Patriot Act change things in terms of criminal investigations in counterterrorism, in particular?
It did a number of things. It gave the government the ability to conduct investigations in secret, without notifying people that they’re being subject to investigations. Probably most significantly, it allows the government to get wiretaps and search warrants without showing probable cause of criminal activity in criminal investigations. In other words, they can have a criminal investigation; they can wiretap the target’s home without showing what has always been required under the Fourth Amendment — probable cause that the individual is actually engaged in criminal activity. … Most people don’t understand that there’s a regular court system and there’s a secret court system and so on. Why are there two sets of courts when it relates to investigations inside the United States that the FBI conducts? For about 20 years, there have been two tracks for investigation. One governs criminal investigations, and that’s governed by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. It’s governed by Ti
