Bush considered illegal searches too

While claiming the authority has not been used, senior administration officials claim that the same authority that the president has to conduct wiretaps would allow physical searches of suspect's homes.

US News and World reports that "The (senior Justice) lawyers talked with senior FBI officials about using the same legal authority to conduct physical searches of homes and businesses of terrorism suspects--also without court approval, one current and one former government official tell U.S. News...FBI Director Robert Mueller was alarmed by the proposal, the two officials said, and pushed back hard against it....
John Martin, a former Justice Department attorney who prosecuted the two most important cases involving warrantless searches and surveillance, says the department is sending an unambiguous message to Congress. "They couldn't make it clearer," says Martin, "that they are also making the case for inherent presidential power to conduct warrantless physical searches." The full story is at THIS LINK.