December 21, 2005
Private: Judge Robertson Reported to Resign in Protest from FISA Court
The Washington Post is reporting that U.S. District Judge James Robertson has resigned from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) court which oversees government surveillance, apparently in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program on people with suspected terrorist ties.
Judge Robertson, one of 11 members of the FISA Court, sent a letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. late Monday notifying him of his resignation without providing an explanation. But the Post is reporting that two sources have told it that that the judge privately expressed deep concern that the warrantless surveillance program authorized by the president in 2001 was legally questionable and may have tainted the FISA court's work. Judge Robertson declined to comment when contacted by the Post.