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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: wiretap

wiretap stories: 33 news summaries

1 - 20 of 33 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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Look Out, Wall Street:
Feds Using Wiretaps Now

Insider trading case against Galleon is first to use the tactic

Oct 17, 09 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The bad boys of Wall Street better watch their mouths. Federal prosecutors used wiretaps to make their case against hedge fund giant Raj Rajaratnam this week, and they plan to use them again in similar investigations. Wiretaps may be common when going after the mafia, say, or terrorists, but their... More »

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Wall Street • insider trading • hedge fund • wiretap • wiretapping • Raj Rajaratnam • Galleon Group

OPINION

 Mukasey: Now's No Time
to Weaken Patriot Act

Terror arrests show that national security needs trump privacy worries

Oct 2, 09 5:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - The arrests last week of Najibullah Zazi and other terror suspects should make lawmakers think twice about making intelligence-gathering more difficult for those trying to keep America safe from terrorist attacks, writes Michael Mukasey. Congressional Democrats are considering imposing new requirements on Patriot Act provisions when they come up for... More »

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national security • terror plots • surveillance • terrorist • wiretap • Patriot Act • Michael Mukasey • electronic surveillance laws • Najibullah Zazi

Judge: CIA Used Fraud to
Get Wiretap Case Dismissed

Orders Tenet to explain misleading actions on wiretap suit

Jul 21, 09 9:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - US District Judge Royce Lamberth released hundreds of secret filings yesterday, saying the CIA falsely claimed that state secrets were involved in a 15-year-old wiretapping lawsuit, McClatchy reports. The agency allowed the judge to continue believing that an agent involved in the case was undercover, when in reality that cover... More »

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CIA • George Tenet • federal courts • lawsuit • wiretap • undercover • Leon Panetta • wiretapping • U.S. District Court • Royce Lamberth

(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

glossies

Your Cell Phone May Be Eavesdropping


Jun 6, 09 7:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Be careful where you leave your cell phone. All it takes is a quick download—the equivalent of loading a ringtone—to install software that wiretaps your calls and even records ambient noise when the phone is unused. Experts say a surprising number of spouses, co-workers, and parents are using... More »

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cell phones • wiretap • spying • eavesdropping • smartphones • wiretapping

(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 »

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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 »

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

ANALYSIS

Timing of Blago Call, Jarrett's Senate Retreat Questioned

Obama aide reported out of consideration Nov. 10, same day as marathon bull session

Dec 11, 08 10:05 AM CST
(Newser) - The timing of reports that Valerie Jarrett, a top aide to Barack Obama, was out of the running to succeed him in the Senate, and the Nov. 10 conference call on which Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich discussed selling that seat is raising questions, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FBI... More »

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FBI • corruption • Illinois • wiretap • governor • Rod Blagojevich • conference call • Valerie Jarrett • political scandal • 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

 Military Snooped 
 on Troops' 
 Phone Sex 

Intercept operators listened to calls of troops, journalists, aid workers for fun

Oct 10, 08 2:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US military routinely listened in on highly personal private phone calls of Americans calling home from the Middle East, two former operators told ABC News. President Bush has insisted that only the calls of terror suspects are monitored, but the whistleblowers say operators monitored the calls of blameless military... More »

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Senate Intelligence Committee • surveillance • National Security Agency • wiretap • Terrorist Surveillance Program • eavesdropping • whistleblower

Shandling Says Private Eye Smeared Him

He's the first big celebrity to testify in
the Pellicano trial

Mar 14, 08 10:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Comedian Garry Shandling took the stand yesterday and accused Los Angeles private eye Anthony Pellicano of using underhanded tactics to "smear" him. Shandling’s former manager hired Pellicano after promising to “make my life miserable,” Shandling said. The FBI soon told Shandling that the detective had rifled... More »

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Hollywood • celebrity trials • wiretap • Anthony Pellicano • private eye • Garry Shandling

Gov. 'Met 8 Women for $80K Sex'

He was a 'good tipper,' says purported Spitzer 'escort'

Mar 12, 08 6:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer had eight or more trysts with prostitutes from the Emperors Club escort agency over the last several years, a source has told Newsday. The sexual encounters, costing as much as $80,000 in cash, unfolded in hotels in Washington, Florida and elsewhere. Spitzer allegedly paid... More »

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sex scandal • Eliot Spitzer • wiretap • Internal Revenue Service • prostitute • political scandal • prostitution ring • call girls • call girl ring • IRS Criminal Investigation Division • Emperors Club • wire transfer • QAT Consulting Group • Suspicious Activity Report • Albany • Mayflower Hotel

UPDATED

Spitzer Expected to Resign Within 48 Hours

NY gov will step down within 48 hours, sources tell local TV station

Mar 10, 08 11:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Eliot Spitzer, enmeshed in a federal investigation of a prostitution ring, will resign as governor of New York, likely within the next 2 days, CBS 2 in New York reports. Spitzer held a press conference today to apologize but didn't indicate what he was apologizing for and gave no indication... More »

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sex scandal • Eliot Spitzer • wiretap • David Paterson • prostitution ring

OPINION

What's Next for Spitzer?

Writers speculate on how we got here—and where we go

Mar 10, 08 3:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Amid reports that Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a wiretap in a prostitution investigation, stunned political bloggers are speculating on whether the New York governor will resign, parsing how we got here—and where we go:
  • Politicians have outlived sex scandals in the past, writes Mark Silva, but
... More »

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Rudy Giuliani • prostitution • sex scandal • Eliot Spitzer • wiretap • prostitution ring

NSA Spying Branches Out

Domestic calls, email, financial transactions under scrutiny—all without a warrant

Mar 10, 08 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Traditionally charged with foreign surveillance, the NSA has increasingly been analyzing data collected domestically, reports the Wall Street Journal—on a scale comparable to that of a Pentagon proposal Congress killed 5 years ago. "When it got taken apart, it didn't get thrown away," says a former government... More »

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NSA • National Security Agency • wiretap • domestic spying • government spying • domestic wiretapping • data tracking • Intelligence Committee

(Newser) - In a brief press conference, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer this afternoon apologized to his family and to the public, "whom I've promised better" for failing "to live up to the standards I set for myself."  The former attorney general is reportedly identified as Client 9... More »

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prostitution • New York • sex scandal • Eliot Spitzer • wiretap • federal wiretap • prostitution ring • Emperors Club

Private Eye's Assistant
Spills on Stand

Arranged wiretaps, transcribed tapes for Hollywood's Pellicano

Mar 8, 08 10:16 AM CST
(Newser) - A former assistant to Anthony Pellicano, improbably named Tarita Virtue, told a packed courtoom yesterday that she transcribed many wiretapped conversations for the Hollywood private eye, Variety reports. She explained Pellicano's wiretapping process step by step, and described the detective's security system, including punch-code locks on every room  and files... More »

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Hollywood • Nicole Kidman • Tom Cruise • celebrity trials • trial • celebrity • racketeering • wiretap • Anthony Pellicano • private eye

Hollywood Private-Eye
Trial Begins

Celebs expected to be called in Pellicano
racketeering case

Mar 7, 08 4:35 AM CST
(Newser) - The illegal wiretapping and racketeering trial of Hollywood private detective Anthony Pellicano kicked off yesterday with a celebrity-studded witness list that sounds more like a casting call than a legal action, the Guardian reports. Sylvester Stallone, Farrah Fawcett and Chris Rock are among 127 possible prosecution witnesses. Studio heads and... More »

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Hollywood • celebrity trials • Sylvester Stallone • wiretap • Anthony Pellicano • private eye • Chris Rock • Garry Shandling

Wiretaps Continue Under Lapsed Law

Nervous phone firms agree to cooperate
with government

Feb 24, 08 11:31 AM CST
(Newser) - US spy agencies are continuing wiretap surveillance despite the fact that a law re-authorizing the administration's controversial program failed to pass a divided legislature last weekend. Telecommunications companies are cooperating with the government despite concerns, Reuters reports. Wiretaps will resume under the current law "at least for now,"... More »

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Congress • Department of Justice • wiretap • eavesdropping • Protect America Act • spies • Office of National Intelligence • George W. Bush

Brit Intelligence Leaked Di 'Squidgy Tapes,' Says Guard

'Intimate call broadcast on airwaves'

Jan 10, 08 4:23 AM CST
(Newser) - A British intelligence agency likely recorded Princess Diana's intimate phone conversations with her lover and leaked the embarrassing 1992 "Squidgygate" tapes, her former bodyguard testified yesterday at the inquest into her death. In the tapes, widely distributed by the press, car salesman James Gilbey tells Diana: "I love... More »

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Princess Diana • wiretap • Diana inquest • Government Communications Headquarters • press leaks • James Gilbey • Ken Wharfe • ham radio

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