The Daily Background
| Poll: Vast majority want warrants required (even in cases of suspected terrorism)
by Arlen Parsa
According to a new poll, almost 70% of Americans think the current federal government (read: the Bush Administration) is either “somewhat secretive” or “very secretive.”
People also overwhelmingly believe that their federal leaders have become sneaky, listening to telephone conversations or opening private mail without getting court permission, according to a survey of 1,008 adults commissioned by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
By a 2-1 margin, people want FBI agents and other investigators to obtain search warrants before monitoring private communications, even if they suspect terrorism.
25% think the Administration is open, compared with 33% who felt that way lats year. And get this: almost a third (28%) think it’s likely (either somewhat or very) that their personal mail or telephone conversations have been monitored by the government. It’s outstanding that twice as many people don’t buy the Administration’s claims that they have to warrantlessly spy on people even in cases where they say they’re investigating terrorism. This is one of those cases where the “we are a country of laws” meme works perfectly.
