House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Warrantless Surveillance and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: The Role of Checks and Balances in Protecting Americans Privacy Rights (Part II). Statements of Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence and Kenneth Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, United States Department of Justice. LLRX.com: The Protect America Act and Legislation… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Patriot Act
Federal Court Strikes Down National Security Letter Provision of Patriot Act
ACLU press release: “A federal court today struck down the amended Patriot Act’s National Security Letter (NSL) provision. The law has permitted the FBI to issue NSLs demanding private information about people within the United States without court approval, and to gag those who receive NSLs from discussing them. The court found that the gag… Continue Reading
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Announces His Resignation
Remarks of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Announcing His Resignation, Washington, DC – August 27, 2007 Letter of Resignation President Bush Discusses Resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales AP: “Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ resignation Monday after months of draining controversy drew expressions of relief from Republicans and a vow from Democrats to pursue their investigation… Continue Reading
DHS Satellite Surveillance Plan Under Close Scrutiny by House Homeland Security Cmte.
The Wall Street Journal today reported that House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff stating the intention to conduct careful oversight over the fall 2007 launch of the National Applications Office (NAO). This program’s use of “spy satellites for domestic homeland security and law enforcement purposes”… Continue Reading
DoD to Implement Interim Threat Reporting Procedures
Press release: “DoDs Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) will close the TALON Reporting System effective Sept. 17, 2007, and maintain a record copy of the collected data in accordance with intelligence oversight requirements. To ensure there is a mechanism in place to document and assess potential threats to DoD resources, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for… Continue Reading
Congressional Requests for White House Documents on Domestic Surveillance Rebuffed
Follow up to August 20, 2007 posting, White House Fails to Comply With Subpoenas on Domestic Surveillance Program – additional related government documents and news: Letter from Fred Fielding, Counsel to the President, to Chairman Leahy, August 20, 2007 Letter from Shannen W. Coffin, Counsel to the Vice President, to Chairman Leahy, August 20, 2007… Continue Reading
White House Fails to Comply With Subpoenas on Domestic Surveillance Program
Follow up to previous posting on the government’s domestic surveillance program, today’s Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, On The Bush Administrations Failure To Comply With Subpoenas For Warrantless Wiretapping Documents, August 20, 2007: “Today was the deadline for the Administration to comply with the Judiciary Committees subpoenas for documents related to… Continue Reading
WSJ Reports on DHS Plan to Expand Domestic Surveillance
WSJ: “The U.S.’s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation’s vast network of spy satellites in the U.S. The decision, made three months ago by Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, places for the first time some of the U.S.’s… Continue Reading
Civil Liberties Issues and Amendments to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Follow-up to August 6, 2007 posting – Questions and Answers on the Protect America Act of 2007 – today’s related press release on the bill President Bush signed into law on August 5, 2007: “U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) yesterday asked for and received a letter from Admiral Mike McConnell [text of which is included… Continue Reading
Questions and Answers on the Protect America Act of 2007
Follow-up to August 5, 2007 posting – Bill to Amend Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Ready for President’s Signature – today’s FAQ: How far does the new wiretap law go? by Declan McCullagh – “Over strong objections from civil liberties groups and many Democrats, legislators voted over the weekend to temporarily rewrite a 1978 wiretapping law… Continue Reading
DOJ OIG Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act, August 2007
Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act (as required by Section 1001(3) of Public Law 107-56), Special Report, August 3, 2007- Office of the Inspector General [PDF or HTML] Continue Reading
Phillipines' Human Security Act of 2007 Now in Effect
“Human Security Act of 2007 – [This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2137 and House Bill No. 4839 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on February 8, 2007 and February 19, 2007, respectively.] SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is declared a policy of the… Continue Reading
