Yesterday’s posting, Judiciary Cmte. Requests Extensive Info On Domestic Spying Program From Attorney General, relied heavily on links to the Washington Post, and for good reason. The newspaper’s investigative reporting on the domestic spying issue has been picking up steam, with yet another must read article in today’s issue, Secret Court’s Judges Were Warned About… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Patriot Act
Judiciary Cmte. Requests Extensive Info On Domestic Spying Program From Attorney General
Following up on AG Gonzales Testimony to Judiciary Cmte. Generates Strong Response, news today about Congressional requests for additional information on the NSA spy program: Press release: “House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) today sent a Judiciary Committee oversight letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting extensive answers about the National Security… Continue Reading
Patriot Act Extension, February 3. 2006
H.R. 4659/P.L. 109-170 – To amend the USA PATRIOT ACT to extend the sunset of certain provisions of such Act. (Feb. 3, 2006; 120 Stat. 3; 1 page). Continue Reading
AG Alberto R. Gonzales Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Cmte. Today
“Wartime Executive Power and the NSA’s Surveillance Authority” Senate Judiciary Committee Full Committee, February 6, 2006 [Note: according to video and the transcript of the testimony, GOP Senators voted not to have Gonzales sworn in.] Prepared Statement of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Washington, D.C., Monday, February 6, 2006.… Continue Reading
Patriot Act Extended Again for Another 5 Weeks
AP: Congress Extends Patriot Act Five Weeks Postings on Patriot Act Continue Reading
Commentary on Gov’t Rationale for Domestic Surveillance
New York Times editorial, January 29, 2006, Spies, Lies and Wiretaps: “A bit over a week ago, President Bush and his men promised to provide the legal, constitutional and moral justifications for the sort of warrantless spying on Americans that has been illegal for nearly 30 years. Instead, we got the familiar mix of political… Continue Reading
Administration Defense of Domestic Spying Dominates Debate
New York Times: Bush Presses On in Legal Defense for Wiretapping “Despite the administration’s arguments, many legal scholars both conservatives and liberals say they remain skeptical about Mr. Bush’s assertion that the Constitution and a September 2001 authorization to use military force provided legal justification for wiretapping phone calls and e-mail messages on… Continue Reading
Judiciary Cmte. Democrats Request Docs. on Domestic Surveillance Prior to Hearing
Press release: “The Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Friday sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales seeking information relating to the Bush Administration’s domestic spying program in preparation for the panels Feb. 6 hearing on the program’s legality. The senators are seeking documents and correspondence from the days immediately following the Sept.… Continue Reading
Surveillance Increasingly Woven Into Fabric of Online World
This New York Times essay, A Growing Web of Watchers Builds a Surveillance Society, by David Shenk, offers especially cautionary insight in light of the growing public and political response to revelations about the government’s domestic surveillance program. After Subpoenas, Internet Searches Give Some Pause Survey finds solid opposition to release of Google data to… Continue Reading
Judiciary Chair Sends Questions to AG On Domestic Spying
In advance of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on Wartime Executive Power and the NSA’s Surveillance Authority, February 6, 2006, the Committee’s Republican Chairman, Arlen Specter, sent a letter on January 24, 2006, to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, listing 15 questions for which he expected detailed responses. The following questions are in the… Continue Reading
Conyers Queries Telecom CEOs on Providing Customer Data to Gov’t
January 20, 2006 Text of Letter from Rep. John Conyers, Jr., to Presidents and CEO’s of 20 Telecommunications Companies Concerning Bush’s Secret Spying Program Continue Reading
Senate Resolution Clarifies No Congressional Authorization for Warrantless Wiretaps
Press release: “Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., on Friday introduced a resolution setting the record straight that Congress did not authorize President Bush’s illegal spying program when it passed a 2001 resolution governing the use of military force in the war on terror.” Text of S. Res.__,…the Authorization of Use of Military Force Does Not Authorize… Continue Reading
