Thursday, December 21, 2006
Showdown Looms Over Domestic Spying
The Associated Press reports, “Federal agents continue to eavesdrop on Americans' electronic communications without warrants a year after President Bush confirmed the practice, and experts say a new Congress' efforts to limit the program could trigger a constitutional showdown.” As the report explains, while high-ranking members of Congress are mulling ways to curb the program Bush authorized a month after the September 11th attacks, The White House argues the Constitution gives the president wartime powers to eavesdrop that he wouldn't have during times of peace.
House Democrats Planning New Intelligence Oversight
“Responding to a recommendation from the Sept. 11 commission, the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said Thursday that House Democrats would create a new type of committee to better scrutinize spending on the nation’s intelligence efforts.” According to The New York Times, “The select committee, which would include the lawmakers who set intelligence policy as well as those who oversee the intelligence budget, is intended to address a central commission finding that Congressional oversight of intelligence matters was dysfunctional and needed to be more centralized.”
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
66% Think U.S. Spies on Its Citizens
According to a recently published poll, reports The Washington Post, “Two-thirds of Americans believe that the FBI and other federal agencies are intruding on privacy rights as part of terrorism investigations, but they remain divided over whether such tactics are justified.” According to the report, “The poll also showed that 52 percent of respondents favor congressional hearings on how the Bush administration has handled surveillance, detainees and other terrorism-related issues, compared with 45 percent who are opposed.”
Friday, December 08, 2006
Traveler Risk System May Violate Ban
“Officials are debating whether the Homeland Security Department's newly revealed computerized risk assessments of international travelers may violate a specific ban that Congress imposed as part of the agency's budget over the past three years,” reports The Associated Press. According to the report, “Members of Congress and privacy advocates on Thursday questioned the legality of Automated Targeting System, or ATS, risk assessments that have been assigned to millions of Americans and foreigners who entered or left the United States over the past four years.”
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Senators Rap FBI Over Domestic Spying
The Associated Press reports, “Senators frustrated by scant details on the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping program on Wednesday rapped FBI Director Robert Mueller for refusing to show how it has curbed terrorist activity in the United States.” According to the report, “The FBI has briefed congressional intelligence committees on the controversial program, but Mueller said he did not have permission to share that information with other lawmakers — including the judiciary panels that oversee the bureau.”
Democrats Set to Press Bush on Privacy and Terrorism
According to The New York Times, “Leading Senate Democrats put the Bush administration on notice Wednesday that they intended to press for a fuller accounting on a wide range of counterterrorism programs, including wiretapping, data-mining operations and the interrogation and treatment of detainees.”
Monday, December 04, 2006
Massive Terror Screening Draws Outrage
The Washington Post reports, “Without their knowledge, millions of Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders in the past four years have been assigned scores generated by U.S. government computers rating the risk that the travelers are terrorists or criminals.” And according to the report, “The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years.”
Massive Terror Screening Draws Outrage
The Washington Post reports, “Without their knowledge, millions of Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders in the past four years have been assigned scores generated by U.S. government computers rating the risk that the travelers are terrorists or criminals.” And according to the report, “The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years.”
