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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: warrantless wiretapping

warrantless wiretapping stories: 66 news summaries

1 - 20 of 66 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Obama Raises Bar 
 on What Passes 
 for State Secrets 

AG must personally approve all requests to keep programs veiled

Sep 23, 09 5:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration will announce much more stringent rules on state secrets today, two Justice Department officials tell the Washington Post, in what amounts to a major shift from Bush-era practice. To keep a program secret, an organization—including intelligence agencies and the military—will have to convince the attorney... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • rendition • Attorney General • secrecy • warrantless wiretapping • Eric Holder • Obama administration • secrets

 Yoo Fights Back on Torture 


Jul 27, 09 7:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - The embattled Bush administration lawyer who drafted memos justifying waterboarding and warrantless wiretaps is fighting back as his role comes under greater scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. John Yoo, now a University of California law professor, has been giving speeches around the country defending the tactics and his view that... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Department of Justice • surveillance • warrantless wiretapping • waterboarding • John Yoo • torture memo

OPINION

Yoo: Wiretaps Were Legal and Necessary

President had right to violate 'obsolete' FISA, Bush lawyer writes

Jul 16, 09 7:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - Last week the inspectors general of the Justice Department, CIA, and other agencies suggested the Bush administration violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, singling out lawyer John Yoo for memos justifying warrantless wiretapping. Yoo defends himself today in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, writing that FISA was "an obsolete... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Department of Justice • surveillance • FISA • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act • warrantless wiretapping • John Yoo • electronic surveillance laws • wiretapping • memo

(Newser) - The Bush administration's warrantless wiretap program wasn't such a great anti-terror tool after all, says a new federal report. The wiretaps—on the international communication of Americans—"generally played a limited role" in counterterrorism efforts, despite the assertions of President Bush, Dick Cheney, and other top officials that they... More »

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Bush administration • national security • FBI • surveillance • wiretap • warrantless wiretapping • John Yoo

Wiretapping Memos Drafted in 'Inappropriate' Secrecy: Report

Only 3 Justice officials knew of program

Jul 10, 09 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - The legal justification for the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program was handled with unprecedented secrecy that sidestepped usual Justice Department procedure, the Washington Post reports. Only three Justice officials—John Ashcroft, John Yoo, and staff attorney James Baker—were made aware of the program and participated in drafting memos... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Department of Justice • John Ashcroft • Department of Defense • secrecy • warrantless wiretapping • John Yoo • James Baker

(AP) - A federal judge has tossed out more than three dozen lawsuits filed against the nation's telecommunications companies for allegedly taking part in the government's email and telephone eavesdropping program that was done without court approval. The dismissals were widely expected after Congress in July agreed on new surveillance rules that... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • lawsuit • Federal Court • wiretap • warrantless wiretapping • federal judges • Vaughn Walker

Wiretap Catches Rep Making Deal for Pro-Israel Lobby Group

Bushies helped kill probe of Dem Harman

Apr 20, 09 9:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - A wiretap by the National Security Agency caught California Rep. Jane Harman promising a suspected Israeli agent she’d intervene on behalf of two pro-Israeli lobbyists facing espionage charges, sources tell CQ Politics. In exchange, the agent promised to pressure then-minority leader Nancy Pelosi into making Harman chair of the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Nancy Pelosi • Israel • Alberto Gonzales • FBI • espionage • NSA • National Security Agency • wiretap • Jane Harman • AIPAC • warrantless wiretapping • Israeli lobby

NSA Violated Domestic Wiretap Limits

Agency overcollected Americans' emails, phonecalls: officials

Apr 16, 09 6:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - The NSA has been listening in on the domestic communications of American citizens well in excess of the limits placed on it by Congress last year, say intelligence officials. The Justice Department has confirmed to the New York Times that it detected "issues" in recent months but said it ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Department of Justice • domestic surveillance • surveillance • National Security Agency • warrantless wiretapping • intercept

Critics Blast Obama's
'State Secrets' Court Fight

White House seeks to kill lawsuit by Islamic charity over FBI wiretaps

Mar 25, 09 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Civil liberties activists are accusing President Obama of going back on his word and behaving like George Bush when it comes to protecting administration secrets, reports the Washington Post. The harsh criticism comes in the wake of a lawsuit brought by an Oregon Islamic charity seeking damages for the alleged... More »

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national security • Barack Obama • Department of Justice • FBI • lawsuit • warrantless wiretapping • domestic wiretapping • US District Court

(Newser) - Two-thirds of Americans want an investigation into alleged Bush administration misdeeds, including torture and warrantless wiretapping, a USA Today/Gallup poll shows. Forty percent of respondents would like to see criminal probes; one-quarter would prefer investigations without the possibility of criminal charges. And even more—70% of those surveyed—said... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • torture • Department of Justice • US attorney firings • warrantless wiretapping • waterboarding • George W. Bush • criminal investigation • opinion polls • Obama administration • President Obama • truth commission

Obama Could Expose Secrets of the Bush Years

On torture, wiretapping, and more, Bush legacy rests with successor

Feb 10, 09 9:19 AM CST
(Newser) - Good government groups spent years suing and lobbying to expose the Bush administration’s secrets. Will President Obama spill the beans on his predecessor? Politico outlines major secrets Obama can choose to air or keep:
  • US attorney firings: Claiming executive privilege, Karl Rove refused to testify. But Rove has
... More »

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Bush administration • rendition • torture • US attorneys scandal • executive privilege • black sites • warrantless wiretapping

OPINION

Rehabilitation
of Bush Legacy Well Under Way

Need proof? See Obama's early moves, writes Krauthammer

Jan 16, 09 10:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Nixon aside, no president since Truman has left office as unpopular as George W. Bush, writes Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer. But while it took decades for Truman's reputation to be restored, "Bush's rehabilitation will come sooner—in fact, it has already begun." The proof? Barack Obama... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Bush legacy • warrantless wiretapping • transition • George W. Bush • detention without trial

 Wiretap Whistleblower 
 Reflects on Fateful Leak 

Fmr. Justice official wrestles with effects of NYT call

Dec 15, 08 9:45 AM CST
(Newser) - The government lawyer who blew the whistle on the Bush administration’s domestic wiretapping program has wrestled with the consequences of his decision, but he felt obligated to tell the truth, Newsweek reports. “I thought this (secret program) was something the other branches of the government—and the public—... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Department of Justice • Thomas Tamm • warrantless wiretapping • domestic spying • domestic wiretapping • whistleblower

OPINION

 Make Your Case 
 on Anti-Terror, 
 Mr. Bush 

Bill Kristol thinks America will listen

Nov 29, 08 2:39 PM CST
(Newser) - Republicans have fallen out of favor, and there’s probably nothing George W. Bush can say in his final days to change that. “But he could do his party—and the nation—a service by reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror,” writes William Kristol.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
War on Terror • counterterrorism • warrantless wiretapping • waterboarding • interrogation techniques • George W. Bush

ANALYSIS

Justice Dept. Math: Subtract Politics, Add Confidence

Obama needs to tread careful bipartisan line in cleaning up after Bush

Nov 13, 08 2:54 PM CST
(Newser) - Repairing a Justice Department heavily politicized by the Bush administration’s ideologically motivated hiring practices and controversial counterterrorism measures will be one of Barack Obama’s most daunting challenges, Carrie Johnson writes in the Washington Post. One key area is the secretive Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the government... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Barack Obama • Department of Justice • counterterrorism • warrantless wiretapping • President Obama

 Obama Likely 
 to Keep Bush 
 Intel Policies 

Positions likely to be filled with pragmatists

Nov 11, 08 11:33 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama isn’t likely to deliver the radical intelligence policy overhaul many civil liberty groups are craving, advisers tell the Wall Street Journal. Those advisers include former Republican supporters and centrist Clinton officials. “He’s going to take a very centrist approach,” said an ex-Bush and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • CIA • torture • FISA • warrantless wiretapping • interrogation techniques • domestic wiretapping • wiretapping bill • President Obama

Judge Demands White House Turn Over Wiretap Memos

He'll determine if their public release would jeopardize national security

Nov 2, 08 7:16 AM CST
(Newser) - A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to turn over legal memos related to the government's policy allowing warrantless wiretapping, reports the Los Angeles Times. The memos must be turned over by Nov. 17 for review by US District Judge Henry Kennedy, who will determine if releasing them would... More »

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Department of Justice • White House • court • wiretap • warrantless wiretapping • US District Court • federal wiretap

opinion

Obama Playing With Fire
Over FISA 'Sell-Out'

He better not take his base for granted, writes Joan Walsh

Jul 9, 08 8:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama was never the great reformer his supporters made him out to be, but his decision to give telecom companies immunity for spying on Americans is nevertheless "unforgivable," writes Joan Walsh in Salon. She's tired of the "political cave-ins" and says Obama better not to take... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Obama 2008 • FISA • warrantless wiretapping • telecom immunity

 Senate passes FISA, 69-28 

Amendments fail

Jul 9, 08 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Senate approved a bill today overhauling the rules on secret US government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telephone companies that helped it listen in after 9/11. The so-called FISA bill passed by a large margin of 69-28. The upper house also voted against three amendments that would have watered... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Senate • domestic surveillance • FISA • warrantless wiretapping • George W. Bush • telecom immunity

OPINION

As Congress Caves on FISA, Coalition Urges Fighting Back

'Limitless erosion of core constitutional liberties' abhorrent, Greenwald writes

Jul 8, 08 5:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - With a vote set for tomorrow on a new domestic surveillance bill that grants immunity to telecoms involved in warrantless wiretapping of US citizens, Glenn Greenwald urges Salon readers to donate to a "coalition devoted to the preservation of basic constitutional protections and the rule of law." The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Mike McConnell • FISA • Michael Mukasey • warrantless wiretapping • George W. Bush • Glenn Greenwald • Jeff Bingaman • telecom immunity

1 - 20 of 66 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>


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