The simple fact is, if Bush had wanted to gather this surveillance legally, all he had to do was to make an application to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court. This court has, throughout its history, granted such applications in all but four instances. What’s more, it is incredibly easy to get such permission (...) The only time a FISA court is likely to refuse permission--remember, they don’t require evidence or probable cause--is if the request was so tenuous, that is, had no likely bearing on protecting the populace, or was sought to watch people who could not reasonably be considered a risk or likely to bear watching. So the fact is, Bush could have easily got the legal cover he needed to allow this surveillance if he wanted it. The only reason he would not have sought such permission is if he thought it would likely be rejected by a FISA court. The only reason a FISA court would reject such a request is if the request was so far outside the bounds of relevance that they had no choice but to reject it. The question George W. Bush therefore needs to answer is: which citizens were you spying on such that you considered it unlikely that a FISA court would grant you permission? Who were you spying on that you thought that even the relatively lax standards of a FISA court would be too restrictive?