A spokesperson for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment. Lytle, who has since left the office, did not respond to requests for comment.
That doesn’t surprise Geoffrey Stone, a University of Chicago law professor and constitutional law expert who has reviewed surveillance programs. When the government wants to investigate someone for doing something illegal or inappropriate, it has free rein so long as it doesn’t violate any specific law. “If there is no law or policy that specifically regulates it, then there’s nothing that prohibits it,” he said.
