Friday, March 31, 2006
Watergate Figure John Dean Appearing Before Senate During Hearing on Bush Censure
“John Dean, counsel to President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal, is headlining a Senate hearing Friday on whether to censure President George W. Bush for authorizing a domestic wiretapping program as part of the war on terrorism.” According to FindLaw, “The measure would condemn Bush's ‘unlawful authorization of wiretaps of Americans within the United States without obtaining the court orders required’ by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Bill Would Speed Challenge to Surveillance
“Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, introduced a bill Wednesday that would put lawsuits challenging the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program on a fast track to the Supreme Court.” The New York Times reports, “With Congress and the Bush administration at odds over the legality of eavesdropping on Americans without court warrants, the legislation could produce a timely ruling by the court on the program's constitutionality, Mr. Schumer said.”
Federal Judge Cites National Security in Keeping Ruling Secret
The First Amendment Center reports, “A federal judge yesterday issued an order to keep secret his controversial ruling regarding the government's warrantless wiretapping program, citing national security concerns.” In his ruling U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy wrote, “The Court finds that the Government's interest in protecting the national security and preventing the dissemination of classified information outweighs the defendants' and/or the public's right of access to these materials.”
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Judges on Secretive Panel Speak Out on Spy Program
“Five former judges on the nation's most secretive court, including one who resigned in apparent protest over President Bush's domestic eavesdropping, urged Congress on Tuesday to give the court a formal role in overseeing the surveillance program.” According to The New York Times, “In a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the secretive court, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, several former judges who served on the panel also voiced skepticism at a Senate hearing about the president's constitutional authority to order wiretapping on Americans without a court order. They also suggested that the program could imperil criminal prosecutions that grew out of the wiretaps.”
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
FBI Keeps Watch on Activists
The Los Angeles Times reports, “The FBI, while waging a highly publicized war against terrorism, has spent resources gathering information on antiwar and environmental protesters and on activists who feed vegetarian meals to the homeless, the agency's internal memos show.”
Friday, March 24, 2006
Bush Shuns Patriot Act Requirement
The Boston Globe reports, “When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.”
U.S. Needn't Say if Defendants Wiretapped
The Associated Press reports, “The government does not have to tell three men accused of illegally sending $3.5 million to Yemen whether secret wiretaps were used to investigate them, a judge has ruled.” According to the report, “The defendants already know that investigators used at least six court-approved wiretaps to monitor their telephones, fax machines and cellular phones in 2002 and 2003. But attorneys want to know whether investigators also eavesdropped on phone and e-mail conversations without a judge's permission.”
Thursday, March 23, 2006
FBI, Police Spying is Rising, Groups Allege
According to The Christian Science Monitor, “Political activists from New York to Colorado to California report that they believe police and FBI surveillance of their activities has increased markedly since the terror attacks 4-1/2 years ago since Congress approved the USA Patriot Act loosening some of the strictures on law enforcement. They include environmental groups like Time's UP!, peace activists in Pittsburgh, and even a police union protesting for higher wages in New York City.”
In Case Involving Disbarred Attorney, High Court Draws 'Fine Line' on Police Searches
“A man's home is still his castle, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, declaring a Georgia woman couldn't give away her husband's Fourth Amendment rights.” Law.com reports, “In a 5-3 decision that backed up a previous ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court, the U.S. high court said that one household occupant's permission for police to enter the home does not give law enforcement an exception to the warrant requirement if another occupant stands in the doorway and protests that entry.”
US Islamic Charity Director's Attorney Says Office Secretly Searched
“The attorney representing a fugitive Saudi national accused of tax charges involving an Islamic charity said he believes his office was secretly searched as part of an international terrorism investigation.” According to FindLaw, “Tom Nelson, who represents Soliman al-Buthe, has already filed a complaint alleging that phone calls and e-mails between al-Buthe and his other lawyers were illegally intercepted by the government.”
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Librarian Is Still John Doe, Despite Patriot Act Revision
The New York Times has this article pointing out how the most recent revision of the Patriot Act is failing to protect important civil liberties. Referring to the famous John Doe librarian who made headlines when he challenged the constitutionality of the Patriot Act provision allowing federal agents to issue national security letters to librarians, the article states, “But many librarians and civil liberties lawyers say the revisions did nothing to enable the guest of honor to take the stage and discuss the Patriot Act without risk of prosecution.”
Pentagon Hired Contractor to Advise on Collecting Information on Churches, Mosques, Other U.S. Sites
Knight Ridder Newspaper reports, “A Pentagon intelligence agency that kept files on American anti-war activists hired one of the contractors who bribed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., to help it collect data on houses of worship, schools, power plants and other locations in the United States.”
Monday, March 20, 2006
The Letter of the Law
US News has this article, which pursues the issue of how far the Bush administration is willing to go in the area of warrantless searches in post-9/11 America. It begins, “In the dark days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a small group of lawyers from the White House and the Justice Department began meeting to debate a number of novel legal strategies to help prevent another attack. Soon after, President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to begin conducting electronic eavesdropping on terrorism suspects in the United States, including American citizens, without court approval.”
Friday, March 17, 2006
Military Lawyers Say Tactics Broke Rules
The Washington Post reports, “The top lawyers for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps have told Congress that a number of aggressive techniques used by military interrogators on a detainee at the Guantanamo Bay prison were not consistent with the guidelines in the Army field manual on interrogations.” “In separate statements obtained by The Washington Post, the lawyers wrote that forcing a detainee to wear a woman's bra and thong underwear on his head, insulting a detainee's mother and sister, calling a detainee a homosexual and implying that others know he is a homosexual, forcing a detainee to perform dog tricks, and forcing a detainee to stand naked in the presence of female soldiers would not be consistent with the Army's policy.”
GOP Senators Introduce Eavesdropping Bill
“Four moderate Senate Republicans introduced a bill Thursday that they hope will end the furor over President Bush's surveillance program by writing it into law.” According to Guardian Unlimited, “One of the bill's chief sponsors, Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, said the bill requires the president to go to court as soon as possible to get approval for wiretapping and other forms of monitoring.”
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Anti-War Group Accuses FBI of Spying
“An activist group claims FBI documents show the government spied on it because of its anti-war views, but the FBI said the surveillance was part of a criminal investigation of one specific person, not the group.” According to FindLaw, The Thomas Merton Center, an interfaith activist group that cites peace and social justice as its objectives, on Tuesday released 11 pages of FBI documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, which show the government targeted the Merton Center because of its views when some members conducted anti-war leafleting in Pittsburgh in November 2002.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
FBI Spies on More Anti-War Activists, Exposes Ethnic Prejudice
“Newly released government documents reveal not only that federal law enforcement agencies monitored nonviolent activists in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but also that agents may have based their reporting and surveillance on ethnic prejudice.” According to The New Standard, “Previously released documents showed the FBI was maintaining files on various anti-war groups across the country, but the American Civil Liberties Union, says the latest files represent the first concrete evidence that the Bureau is spying on activist groups solely based on their opposition to the war in Iraq.”
Judge Plans to Order Google to Turn Over Data to U.S.
The New York Times reports, “After the Justice Department sharply cut back its request for search-engine data from Google, a federal judge indicated today that he would instruct the company to comply with a government subpoena in the department's defense of an online pornography law.” According to the report, “The government is now requesting a sample of 50,000 Web site addresses returned in Google searches, instead of what could have amounted to billions of Web addresses when the subpoena was first issued last August.”
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Google, Justice Department Set to Face Off in Court
“The U.S. administration will renew its effort to find out what people have been looking for on Google Inc.'s Internet-leading search engine, continuing a legal showdown over how much of the Web's vast databases should be shared with the government.” According to FindLaw, Google has refused to cooperate with government requests for its users’ information maintaining that the government's demand threatens its users' privacy as well as its own closely guarded trade secrets.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Surveillance, Infiltration, and Harassment of Environmental Organizations
Truthout has this post, which includes the comments of a member of the Lane County Bill of Rights Defense Committee discussing “Surveillance, Infiltration, and Harassment of Environmental Organizations.”
Friday, March 10, 2006
Bush Signs Renewal of Patriot Act
“A day before parts of the USA Patriot Act were to expire, President Bush signed into law a renewal that will allow the government to keep using terror-fighting tools passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.” Associated Press reports, “Bush's signature came two days after the House gave final approval to the legislation over objections that it infringes on Americans' privacy.”
US Rights Groups Ask Courts to End Domestic Spying
“Civil liberties groups on Thursday asked federal courts to halt the Bush administration's controversial program of domestic eavesdropping, saying it violated the privacy and free speech rights of U.S. citizens.” According to Reuters, “The request for court-ordered injunctions filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Detroit and by the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York were an extension of legal challenges the two groups had filed in January.”
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Justice Dept. Report Cites F.B.I. Violations
According to The New York Times, “The Federal Bureau of Investigation found apparent violations of its own wiretapping and other intelligence-gathering procedures more than 100 times in the last two years, and problems appear to have grown more frequent in some crucial respects, a Justice Department report released Wednesday said.”
Senate Panel Blocks Eavesdropping Probe
According to The Washington Post, “The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence voted along party lines yesterday to reject a Democratic proposal to investigate the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program and instead approved establishing, with White House approval, a seven-member panel to oversee the effort.”
Patriot Act Renewed in Close Vote
“Law enforcement officials get to keep their anti-terror tools, but with some new curbs, under the USA Patriot Act renewal passed by the House in a cliffhanger vote.” According to Law.com, “The 280-138 vote Tuesday evening passed by just two votes more than needed under House rules requiring a two-thirds majority for legislation handled on an expedited basis.”
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
GOP Senators Near Deal on Eavesdropping
The New York Times reports, “After weeks of negotiations and closed door meetings, moderate Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee will propose legislation giving President Bush's controversial surveillance program the force of law.”
Watching What You Say
“Two months after the New York Times revealed that the Bush Administration ordered the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless surveillance of American citizens, only three corporations--AT&T, Sprint and MCI--have been identified by the media as cooperating.” According to this article by The Nation, “If the reports in the Times and other newspapers are true, these companies have allowed the NSA to intercept thousands of telephone calls, fax messages and e-mails without warrants from a special oversight court established by Congress under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).”
Senate Judiciary Chairman May Call Attorney General for More Eavesdropping Questions
“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' written answers to questions about warrantless wiretapping under the Bush administration's program might require him to testify a second time before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the panel's Republican chairman said Monday.” According to FindLaw, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter told reporters, “There is a suggestion in his letter there are other classified intelligence programs that are currently under way.”
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
'14,000 Detained Without Trial in Iraq'
The Guardian Unlimited reports that according to Amnesty International, “US and UK forces in Iraq have detained thousands of people without charge or trial for long periods and there is growing evidence of Iraqi security forces torturing detainees.”
Monday, March 06, 2006
One Life Inside Gitmo
Time Magazine has this article: “The U.S. government says Detainee 063 has provided invaluable intelligence. His lawyer says that the statements were coerced and that the interrogation log--published exclusively on TIME.com--proves it.”
'Specific' Info on NSA Eavesdropping?
According to The Christian Science Monitor, “Of all the lawsuits seeking to halt the National Security Agency's program to eavesdrop on certain Americans' electronic communications, a new one filed last week in Oregon may provide the federal courts with the most detailed glimpse yet into the clandestine counterterrorism effort.”
Panel to Expand Inquiry on Surveillance
The New York Times reports, “Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee agreed Thursday to expand their inquiry into the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program, but Republicans rejected a broader effort by Democrats for President Bush to turn over detailed White House records on the operation.”
Pentagon Releases Gitmo Prisoners' Names
“After four years of secrecy, the Pentagon handed over documents Friday that contain the names of detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.” According to CNN, “The release resulted from a victory by The Associated Press in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.”
Friday, March 03, 2006
How the Patriot Act Came in From the Cold
According to The Christian Science Monitor, “The addition of some new civil liberties protections made the Patriot Act's final lurch toward passage possible.” However, according to critics, “these changes are but tissue-paper defenses.”
'War on Terror' Trials Could Allow Evidence Obtained Through Torture
According to Common Dreams News, “US military officers, breaking with domestic and international legal precedent, said that ‘war on terror’ military tribunals at the Guantanamo naval base could allow evidence obtained through torture.”
House Intelligence Panel Agrees to Expanded Oversight of Bush's Eavesdropping Program
“The House of Representatives Intelligence Committee has agreed to expand its oversight of the Bush administration's contentious domestic surveillance program and will seek full briefings for select members of the panel.” According to FindLaw, “The deal, worked out between the committee's Republican chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra, and its top Democrat, Rep. Jane Harman, would open a comprehensive review of whether the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act needs to be modernized.”
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Senate Votes to Renew Patriot Act
The New York Times reports, “Capping months of partisan wrangling, the U.S. Senate gave final congressional approval on Thursday to renewing the USA Patriot Act, a centerpiece of President George W. Bush's war on terrorism.” According to the report, “A day after passing a related bill to better protect civil liberties in this war, the Senate approved the renewal measure on a 89-10 vote.”
Gonzales Seeks to Clarify Testimony on Spying
The Washington Post reports, “Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales appeared to suggest yesterday that the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance operations may extend beyond the outlines that the president acknowledged in mid-December.” “In a letter yesterday to senators in which he asked to clarify his Feb. 6 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales also seemed to imply that the administration's original legal justification for the program was not as clear-cut as he indicated three weeks ago.”
Saudi Group Alleges Wiretapping by U.S.
The Washington Post reports, “Documents cited in federal court by a defunct Islamic charity may provide the first detailed evidence of U.S. residents being spied upon by President Bush's secret eavesdropping program, according to the organization's lawsuit and a source familiar with the case.”
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Deal on Spy Program in Works
“Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a leading Republican critic of President Bush's domestic spying program, has drafted a bill that would exempt the once-secret surveillance program from a 1978 statute that requires warrants.” According to The Boston Globe, “The draft bill, which will be aired today at a Judiciary Committee hearing, would require Bush to submit the classified details of the spying program to a special national security court for review.”
Bugging the Boardroom
“Soon government wiretaps and electronic eavesdropping may not be limited to exposing mobsters and drug lords but will be used by antitrust investigators to bug corporate boardrooms.” According to Law.com, “A one-page bill now in Congress would add Sherman Antitrust Act violations to the list of predicate crimes that can serve as the basis for court-approved wiretaps, giving far greater investigative power to the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.”
Lawsuit Alleges Illegal Wiretaps by NSA
“Civil rights attorneys have sued the National Security Agency, claiming it illegally wiretapped conversations between the leaders of an Islamic charity that had been accused of aiding Muslim militants and two of its lawyers.” According to The Houston Chronicle, “The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland asks that electronic surveillance by the NSA be shut down, arguing the agency illegally wiretapped electronic communications between a local chapter of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation and Wendell Belew and Asim Ghafoor, both attorneys in Washington, D.C.”
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