" So, to paraphrase Mr. Hayden's stance on the subject, if the government considers a search/seizure to be reasonable, the persons/houses/papers/effects being searched/seized have no right to not be violated, so warrants _may_ be issued without probable cause and without describing the place/person being searched/seized. By that interpretation, the government can simply consider any search/seizure to be reasonable and, therefore, never require probable cause."

No. He isn't saying warrants can be issued without probable cause. Warrants MUST be based on probable cause, and he isn't saying otherwise.

He is claiming that the WARRANTLESS wire tapping constitutes legal searches and seizures because it is reasonable. Read my above post...he is interpreting the 4th Amendment's clauses separately. Hayden is wrong because he doesn't recognize that probable cause is the standard for whether a search or seizure is reasonable. So, police can act without a warrant in some cases, BUT, they need probable cause in order for that action to be reasonable. There are some very narrowly defined circumstances where an officer can act without a warrant and without probable cause, but wire tapping isn't one of them.

In a way, Hayden is correct. There are two clauses to the 4th Amendment: First, the search and seizure clause, and second, the warrant clause. The biggest issue in 4th Amendment law is whether those two clauses should be read together or read separately.

If they are read together, then ALL searches and seizures without a warrant are illegal. And since all warrants must be issued on probable cause, all searches and seizures must be based on probable cause.

If they are read separately, then there can be some instances where searches and seizures without a warrant are ok. Whether or not those warrantless searches and seizures are ok IS a question of reasonableness like Hayden said. However, he left out the part that courts have determined that the legal standard for reasonableness is generally probable cause. So if an officer searches or seizes someone without a warrant under circumstances where he has been given the right to do so, he would generally need probable cause in order for that search or seizure to be valid and legal.

There are some scenarios where an officer can act based on a "reasonable suspicion"(a less stringent standard than probable cause) or under exigent circumstances, but those instances don't apply to the wiretapping stuff.