[G8whlTAe]

I think that if anyone has the right - and the knowledge - to speak out on the current domestic spy program, it's Carter. After all, he signed FISA into law in 1978.

I did some browsing, and found the following that you may find interesting. The first is a statement by Carter urging the House to pass FISA, and the second is part of Carter's signing statement when he signed FISA into law.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Legislation - Statement Urging Passage of the Legislation by the House of Representatives, September 6, 1978

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this week on the foreign intelligence surveillance act, one of the most significant legislative initiatives involving our intelligence agencies in the last three decades.

This act will establish the Nation’s first legislative controls over foreign intelligence surveillance conducted by the United States government. Most importantly, those controls will be established so as to protect both the strength of our Nation’s intelligence agencies and the privacy rights of our citizens.

American citizens will be assured that the intelligence agencies so vital to protecting our security will be able to perform their tasks fully and effectively. The bill also assures intelligence officers who serve our country that their proper activities in this field will be authorized by statute.

By providing clear statutory standards, this legislation will help strengthen the ability of our intelligence agencies to deal with foreign espionage and international terrorism. The strong support of this legislation by every intelligence agency clearly reflects this fact.

The passage of this legislation is also a major step toward eliminating the potential for abuse of electronic surveillance by the Federal Government. Americans will now be afforded the safeguards of a judicial warrant procedure for any electronic surveillance which might affect their rights.

This legislation has been carefully developed over several years, by executive and congressional leaders of both parties. The kind of bipartisan cooperation needed to develop legislation in the intelligence area, which is so important to the defense of our Nation, was demonstrated earlier this year by the overwhelming Senate vote, 95-1, passing the bill.

I urge the Members of the House to vote for passage of this legislation, so that we can promptly begin to implement this well-balance, long-overdue initiative. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 - Statement on Signing S.1566 Into Law, October 25, 1978

This bill requires, for the first time, a prior judicial warrant for all electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence or counterintelligence purposes in the United States in which communications of U.S. persons might be intercepted. It clarifies the Executive’s authority to gather foreign intelligence by electronic surveillance in the United States. It will remove any doubt about the legality of those surveillances which are conducted to protect our country against espionage and international terrorism. It will assure FBI field agents and others involved in intelligence collection that their acts are authorized by statute and, if a U.S. person’s communications are concerned, by a court order. And it will protect the privacy of the American people.

In short, the act helps to solidify the relationship of trust between the American people and their Government. It provides a basis for the trust of the American people in the fact that the activities of their intelligence agencies are both effective and legal. It provides enough secrecy to ensure that intelligence relating to national security can be securely acquired, while permitting review by the courts and Congress to safeguard the rights of Americans and others. Source

Yeah, I'd like to see Carter testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee ... wouldn't you?