"The NSA and other Alphabet Agencies only wish they had the authority to do what the Gestapo and Stasi did."
They don't have it yet. (There are still obstacles left to be cleared on the way, Judges like Richard Leon* among them.)
But they (the Alphabet Agencies) are looking forward to getting comparable authority eventually.
* The Federal Judge who ordered December 16, 2013:
"... for all the above reasons, I will grant Larry Klayman’s and Charles Strange’s request for an injunction and enter an order that (1) bars the Government from collecting, as part of the NSA’s Bulk Telephony Metadata Program, any telephony metadata associated with their personal Verizon accounts and (2) requires the Government to destroy any such metadata in its possession that was collected through the bulk collection program. ”
—Judge Richard Leon,"
"... However, in light of the significant national security interests at stake in this case and the novelty of the constitutional issues, I will stay my order pending appeal. In doing so, I hereby give the Government fair notice that should my ruling be upheld, this order will go into effect forthwith. Accordingly, I fully expect that during the appellate process, which will consume at least the next six months, the Government will take whatever steps necessary to prepare itself to comply with this order when, and if, it is upheld. Suffice it to say, requesting further time to comply with this order months from now will not be well received and could result in collateral sanctions."
http://judgepedia.org/Richard_Leon
