Jeff Harp, a former FBI agent and security analyst for KPIX 5, said, “They put Microphones under rocks, they put microphones in trees, they plant microphones in equipment. I mean, there’s microphones that are planted in places that people don’t think about, because that’s the intent!” Court documents in a case against California based real estate investors revealed that the FBI has placed such devices on walkways, near bus stops, and in light fixtures.

An attorney for one of the accused says that holding a private conversation in a public place still counts as protected oral communication and that the conversant individuals would have an expectation of privacy. The attorney is fighting the Surveillance on fourth amendment grounds since there wasn’t any judicial authorization of the surveillance.