The ACLU first noticed the 37-page fourth amendment brief on a list of justice department documents that the Bush administration said were relevant to a lawsuit over government surveillance. The group plans to continue fighting in court for total de-classification of the brief.
"The administration's lawyers believe the president should be permitted to violate statutory law, to violate international treaties, and even to violate the fourth amendment inside the US," Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU's national security project, said. "They believe that the president should be above the law."