Page:ACLU v. NSA Opinion (August 17, 2006), US District Court, East-Michigan.djvu/23

 injury" as a result of Defendants' conduct.

It must now be determined whether Plaintiffs have shown that there is a causal connection between the injury and the complained of conduct. Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560-561. The causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of is fairly traceable to the challenged action of Defendants. The TSP admittedly targets communications originated or terminated outside the United States where a party to such communication is in the estimation of Defendants, a member of al Qaeda, a member of a group affiliated with al Qaeda, or an agent of al Qaeda or its affiliates. The injury to the Plaintiffs stems directly from the TSP and their injuries can unequivocally be traced to the TSP.

Finally, it is likely that the injury will be redressed by the requested relief. A determination by this court that the TSP is unconstitutional and a further determination which enjoins Defendants from continued warrantless wiretapping in contravention of FISA would assure Plaintiffs and others that they could freely engage in conversations and correspond via email without concern, at least without notice, that such communications were being monitored. The requested relief would thus redress the injury to Plaintiffs caused by the TSP.

Although this court is persuaded that Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient injury to establish standing, it is important to note that if the court were to deny standing based on the unsubstantiated minor distinctions drawn by Defendants, the President's actions in warrantless wiretapping, in contravention of FISA, Title III, and the First and Fourth Amendments, would be immunized from judicial scrutiny. It was never the intent of the Framers to give the President such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of [*24]