The President of the US, acting outside the law and way outside his constitutional authority. With apparently no need to circumvent the law.

Bush’s Snoopgate
"The president was so desperate to kill The New York Times’ eavesdropping story, he summoned the paper’s editor and publisher to the Oval Office. But it wasn’t just out of concern about national security."

"What is especially perplexing about this story is that the 1978 law set up a special court to approve eavesdropping in hours, even minutes, if necessary. In fact, the law allows the government to eavesdrop on its own, then retroactively justify it to the court, essentially obtaining a warrant after the fact. Since 1979, the FISA court has approved tens of thousands of eavesdropping requests and rejected only four. There was no indication the existing system was slow—as the president seemed to claim in his press conference—or in any way required extra-constitutional action."

If this doesn't frighten you, even the True Believers, the neocons, and the sleeping idiots, you deserve what you get. And it won't be just for the other guy, either.

Arf