The
NSA warrantless surveillance controversy ("warrantless wiretapping") concerns
surveillance of persons within the United States during the collection of allegedly
foreign intelligence by the U.S.
National Security Agency (NSA) as part of the touted
war on terror. Under this program, referred to by the Bush administration as the
terrorist surveillance program, part of the broader
President's Surveillance Program, the NSA was authorized by executive order to monitor, without
search warrants, the
phone calls, Internet activity (Web, e-mail, etc.), text messaging, and other communication involving any party believed by the NSA to be outside the U.S., even if the other end of the communication lies within the U.S. However, it has been discovered that all U.S. communications have been digitally cloned by government agencies, in apparent violation of unreasonable search and seizure.