President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans to search for evidence of terrorist activity without court-approved warrants. The order, signed in 2002, allowed the NSA to monitor international phone calls and e-mails, but still required a warrant for entirely domestic communications. Almost a dozen members of the NSA spoke to The New York Times, but were granted anonymity. Defenders of the program say the order is an important tool in disrupting terrorist plots and preventing attacks on the United States.”]
Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/2118821/nsa-allowed-to-eavesdrop-on-americans.html