Why is the executive branch of the federal government running a secret, warrantless domestic surveillance program on American citizens? Within the last few days, there have been two separate explanations by the White House. First, the administration claimed it was legal all along. Then, it was because of a need for speed.

Both of those arguments have flaws.

Government officials are able to get an emergency warrant from the secret FISA court within minutes, if they can show an imminent threat. More importantly, the FISA states that the government can begin a wiretap as soon as it determines a need and can wait up to 72 hours before obtaining a warrant. The government already has the capacity to read the public’s mail and e-mail and listen to telephone conversations. All it had to do was obtain a warrant from a special court created for that purpose.

Between 1979 and 2002, the FISA court issued 15,264 warrants. Only four were rejected.

The president’s actions were not necessary. If he had legitimate concerns about FISA, the appropriate response would have been to go to Congress and expand it, not to blatantly violate the law.

So why is the administration doing this? I believe that the surveillance that the Bush administration is ordering is so outrageous, so unrelated to the war and such an unconstitutional breach of authority that he knows that even a court that has rejected only a handful of warrant requests in 25 years would reject what he’s doing.

Bill Baker DiGiulio, Bowdoin