From a speech by George W. Bush on April 20, 2004 , more than two years after the illegal wiretapping of Americans commenced on his personal say so:
Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.
What? Wiretaps require a court order? Our Constitutional rights are guaranteed? Then how come ….