NSA Warrantless Wiretapping
Gonzales: Bush Blocked Justice Department Inquiry into NSA Wiretapping
July 19, 2006 Washington Post
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wrote in a letter sent to the committee's chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.),"The president decided that protecting the secrecy and security of the program requires that a strict limit be placed on the number of persons granted access to information about the program for non-operational reasons ...Every additional security clearance that is granted for the [program] increases the risk that national security might be compromised."
The Office of Professional Responsibility, the internal affairs office at Justice, chief lawyer H. Marshall Jarrett wrote in a memorandum, "Since its creation some 31 years ago, OPR has conducted many highly sensitive investigations involving Executive Branch programs and has obtained access to information classified at the highest levels. In all those years, OPR has never been prevented from initiating or pursuing an investigation."
President Bush authorized the NSA program after September 11, 2001.
See July 19,2006 Washington Post story here.
Court Refuses to Throw Out NSA Wiretapping Lawsuit
July 21 , 2006 Electronic Frontier Foundation
A Federal Judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation against AT&T alleging they participated/are participating in the NSA Wiretapping Program-See April 7th, 2006 Related Story Below
Related Article, Reuters July 10, 2006
Attorney General Suggests Warrantless Domestic Spying is Legal
April 7, 2006 New York Times
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testified before a House Judiciary hearing yesterday. He stated that wiretapping between US Citizens in the United States is 'possibly' ongoing and is legally justified by Woodrow Wilson's interception of cables during World War I from Europe to The United States in 1917.
The existence of such a program is supported by recent statements by a former AT&T employee (see April 7th Bloomberg story below) .
The Justice Department's spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said in a statement, "The attorney general's comments today should not be interpreted to suggest the existence or nonexistence of a domestic program or whether any such program would be lawful under the existing legal analysis."
In a related story Bush seems to acknowledge domestic spying when answering Harry Taylor's assertion that Bush was tapping phones domestically. Bush replied,"It seems like — to make sense, if we’re at war, we ought to be using tools necessary within the Constitution, on a very limited basis, a program that’s reviewed constantly to protect us. Now, you and I have a different — of agreement on what is needed to be protected. But you said, would I apologize for that? The answer — answer is, absolutely not." See video and transcripts here.
Unfortunately ACLU and other civil liberties organizations do not agree with the assertion that this program is constitutional, and most (even Congressional Republicans) would agree it does not comply with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillence Act (FISA) that requires a retroactive court order AFTER 72 hours from the start of a wiretap.
AT&T Technician Says NSA Secret Wire-Tap Rooms in San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, & Los Angeles
April 7, 2006 Bloomberg
Michael Kline, 22 year former AT&T employee, disclosed yesterday that," ``Based on my understanding of the connections and equipment at issue, it appears the NSA is capable of conducting what amounts to vacuum-cleaning surveillance of all the data crossing the Internet, whether that be people's e mail, Web surfing or any other data,''
Kline's declarations were added to a lawsuit filed in January by EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based privacy-rights group) against AT&T on April 5th.Kevin Bankston, EFF staff attorney, says,"The evidence that we are filing supports our claim that AT&T is diverting Internet traffic into the hands of the NSA wholesale, in violation of federal wiretapping laws and the Fourth Amendment.''
This allogation supports Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testomony to a House Judiciary hearing yesterday where he stated wiretapping between US Citizens in the United States is 'possibly' ongoing and is legally justified by Woodrow Wilson's interception of cables during World War I from Europe to The United States in 1917. (See April 7th NYTimes)
Bill to Allow Warrantless Spying?
March 17, 2006
Republicans in the Senate are proposing passing a law to allow Bush's warrantless NSA wiretapping. The bill introduced yesterday calls for fines of up to $1 million and prison terms of up to 15 years for those who disclose "classified information related to the Terrorist Surveillance Program," the administration's name for the NSA operation.