"..you can‘t sue over being secretly wiretapped because you can‘t prove you were secretly wiretapped because it‘s a secret. "

'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Feb. 19 - Countdown with Keith Olbermann - TODAYshow.com:

"... the [Supreme] court refused to hear the case of ACLU V. NSA, the National Security Agency. The agency Mr. Bush had wiretapped Americans without court warrants, in violation of U.S. law, including the FISA act, specifically designed to curb government intrusions into Americans‘ privacy. The ACLU also asking in vain for the high court to issue a ruling definitely affirming and I‘m not really dumbing this down by a lot - The president of the country is not allowed to break the law - The Supreme Court denies to do so. That means a lower court dismissal of this stands... I‘m joined now by Jonathan Turley, professional of constitutional law at George Washington University. Thank you again for your time tonight, sir.



JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Hi, Keith.

OLBERMANN: That is the gist of it, right? I mean you can‘t sue over being secretly wiretapped because you can‘t prove you were secretly wiretapped because it‘s a secret.

TURLEY: That is it in every ridiculous detail. And unfortunately, that is a standard that is not unique. Why courts continue to use it is a very good question because they have the ability, if they really wanted to, to force the government to make some minimal showing, even under seal that would allow plaintiffs to get a ruling on the merits..."