Warrantless Wiretaps

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June 2009
- US Judge Boots Warrantless Wiretap Cases Vs. Telecoms
  
  Associated Press | Jun 3, 09 2:17 PM CDT
  
  (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 include immunity from lawsuits for telecommunications companies that allegedly helped the US spy on Americans. More »
April 2009
- Pelosi: I Knew Harman Was Wiretapped
  
  CQPolitics | Apr 22, 09 2:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nancy Pelosi said today she knew fellow California Democrat Jane Harman was the subject of intelligence wiretaps, but she couldn’t spill because the information had come in a confidential briefing, CQ Politics reports. “Even if I wanted to share it with her I would not have had the liberty,” said Pelosi, who learned of the surveillance in 2005 or 2006, when she was a member of the Intelligence Committee. More »
- Wiretap Catches Rep Making Deal for Pro-Israel Lobby Group
  
  CQPolitics | 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 Intelligence Committee. Also, the sources say, Bush administration officials, not “lack of evidence,” stopped an FBI probe of the Democrat. More »
- Senate Will Probe NSA in Wiretapping 'Overcollection'
  
  New York Times | Apr 16, 09 1:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Senate Intelligence Committee is planning an inquiry into the National Security Agency after reports the spy group has been engaged in “overcollection” of information domestically, the New York Times reports. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the chair of the committee, said a hearing would be held within the month. The Justice Department says the problem has been fixed. More »
- NSA Violated Domestic Wiretap Limits
  
  New York Times | 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 "took comprehensive steps" to correct them. More »
March 2009
- Critics Blast Obama's 'State Secrets' Court Fight
  
  Washington Post | 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 illegal wiretapping of organization officials by the FBI. Justice Department attorneys have sought to dismiss the suit, arguing that it threatens to expose "state secrets." More »
February 2009
- Americans Want Torture Investigation: Poll
  
  USA Today | Feb 12, 09 2:00 PM CST
  
  (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 the government should look into allegations that administration officials tried to use the Justice Department for political purposes. More »
- Obama Could Expose Secrets of the Bush Years
  
  Politico | 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 been re-subpoenaed, and Obama may get to make the final choice. More »
December 2008
- Gonzales: I'm a Casualty of War on Terror
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 31, 08 6:46 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Controversial former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales didn't deserve the flak he got as a high-ranking Bush administration official, he tells the Wall Street Journal . Gonzales was pilloried for his involvement in the government's "war on terror" policies, but he denies drafting the legal opinions that supported harsh interrogation techniques and holding "unlawful combatants" indefinitely. "What is it that I did that is so fundamentally wrong?" he asks. More »
- Wiretap Whistleblower Reflects on Fateful Leak
  
  Newsweek | 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—ought to know about. So they could decide: do they want this massive spying program to be taking place?” Thomas Tamm says now. More »
November 2008
- Make Your Case on Anti-Terror, Mr. Bush
  
  Weekly Standard | 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. If Bush publicly explains how his detention, interrogation, and surveillance efforts have kept America safe, Obama will be able to “back off rash promises and continue most of the policies.” More »
- NYPD Clashes With Justice on Surveillance
  
  New York Times | Nov 20, 08 10:24 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Department of Justice has firmly rejected efforts by the New York Police Department to relax restrictions on eavesdropping, triggering a war of words between the agencies’ heads, the New York Times reports. The NYPD wants broader latitude for electronic surveillance, and less red tape for its requests, but Justice insists that expansion would hinder, rather than help, efforts to stop terrorists. More »
- Justice Dept. Math: Subtract Politics, Add Confidence
  
  Washington Post | 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 on a range of issues from domestic spying to religious-group funding. More »
- Judge Demands White House Turn Over Wiretap Memos
  
  Los Angeles Times | 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 jeopardize national security—as the Justice Department has claimed—or if they should be declassified and subject to public scrutiny. More »
October 2008
- Military Snooped on Troops' Phone Sex
  
  ABC News | 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 officers, journalists, and aid workers—and shared particularly juicy conversations with each other. More »
July 2008
- Big Brother Comes to Sweden
  
  Spiked | Jul 13, 08 1:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Don’t believe the hype: “Sweden is no cuddly liberal democracy,” writes Nathalie Rothschild for Spiked, berating her home country for “introducing the most Draconian surveillance law in Europe.” Known as the FRA law but nicknamed "Lex Orwell " by opponents, the legislation gives intelligence agencies the right to intercept all incoming foreign communication. “Emulate Sweden? No thanks.” More »
- Senate passes FISA, 69-28
  
  Associated Press | 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 down, delayed, or stripped away the immunity provision. More »
- As Congress Caves on FISA, Coalition Urges Fighting Back
  
  Salon | 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 "money bomb" will drop Aug. 8, the anniversary of Nixon's resignation over "lawbreaking and surveillance abuses." More »
- Supporters Blast Obama on His Own Website
  
  New York Times | Jul 2, 08 10:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama’s abrupt about-face on new FISA legislation that would grant immunity to telcos that aided the Bush administration in warrantless wiretaps has some supporters hopping mad—and they’re using the forums on the candidate's own website to protest, the New York Times reports. During the primaries Obama pledged to oppose the legislation, but now supports a compromise version. More »
June 2008
- House Passes Compromise FISA Bill
  
  Washington Post | Jun 20, 08 3:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The House today approved a bill updating FISA law and granting qualified immunity to telecom companies that aided the Bush administration in warrantless wiretapping. A majority of Democrats opposed the bill, which passed 293-129. Nancy Pelosi supported the measure despite serious reservations because it refutes the administration's argument about "inherent authority," the Washington Post reports. More »