tagged w/ Wiretapping
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41 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday that the panel would hold a hearing to get to the bottom of reports that the National Security Agency improperly tapped into the domestic communications of American citizens.
"We will make sure we get the facts," said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
The House and Senate Intelligence Committees learned of the problem in late February from the Justice Department, a congressional official said Thursday. The committees have since had multiple private briefings on the NSA transgressions.
The Justice Department confirmed Wednesday that it had reined in the NSA's wiretapping activities in the United States after learning that the agency had improperly accessed American phone calls and e-mails while eavesdropping on foreign communications.
Justice officials discovered the problems during a routine review of NSA wiretapping. The government's action was first divulged Wednesday by The New York Times.
The Senate hearing will be closed to the public and will delve into questions raised by The New York Times story that have not been covered in closed-door informal briefings, a committee official said. The official would not say what those issues are.
The House Intelligence Committee has already held four secret briefings on the NSA action, said Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Tx. The House Judiciary Committee was also notified.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the NSA program is classified.
Department officials said the problems have been corrected, but they declined to say what measures were taken. Justice officials would not detail how the law governing NSA wiretapping was violated or for how long. They also would not estimate how many Americans' communications were compromised.41 minutes ago WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee... more
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The National Security Agency sought to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant, the New York Times reported Thursday. The paper couldn't determine, however, which member came in for the enhanced attention.
It offered scant clues, but did say that the representative participated in a Congressional delegation -- a "codel" -- to the Middle East in 2005 or 2006. From the NYT report:
The agency believed that the congressman, whose identity could not be determined, was in contact -- as part of a Congressional delegation to the Middle East in 2005 or 2006 -- with an extremist who had possible terrorist ties and was already under surveillance, the official said. The agency then sought to eavesdrop on the congressman's conversations, the official said.
The use of the label "congressman" narrows it down slightly. (You're off the hook, Lynn Woolsey!) Spencer Ackerman has started to put a list together, but the way that the House of Representatives discloses congressional trips doesn't make it easy.The National Security Agency sought to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant,... more
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WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.
Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.
The legal and operational problems surrounding the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities have come under scrutiny from the Obama administration, Congressional intelligence committees and a secret national security court, said the intelligence officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because N.S.A. activities are classified. Classified government briefings have been held in recent weeks in response to a brewing controversy that some officials worry could damage the credibility of legitimate intelligence-gathering efforts.
The Justice Department, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, acknowledged Wednesday night that there had been problems with the N.S.A. surveillance operation, but said they had been resolved.
As part of a periodic review of the agency’s activities, the department “detected issues that raised concerns,” it said. Justice Department officials then “took comprehensive steps to correct the situation and bring the program into compliance” with the law and court orders, the statement said. It added that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. went to the national security court to seek a renewal of the surveillance program only after new safeguards were put in place.
In a statement on Wednesday night, the N.S.A. said that its “intelligence operations, including programs for collection and analysis, are in strict accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the intelligence community, did not address specific aspects of the surveillance problems but said in a statement that “when inadvertent mistakes are made, we take it very seriously and work immediately to correct them.”
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Photo Source and note: Photo is of NSA headquarters in Maryland, photo provided by Wikipedia.WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages... more
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WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.
Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.(yeah, right!)
The legal and operational problems surrounding the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities have come under scrutiny from the Obama administration, Congressional intelligence committees and a secret national security court, said the intelligence officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because N.S.A. activities are classified. Classified government briefings have been held in recent weeks in response to a brewing controversy that some officials worry could damage the credibility of legitimate intelligence-gathering efforts.WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages... more
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Although the Bush economic train wreck hogged election headlines there were still many voters who understood the economy was huge but that there were also equally big elephants (pun intended) in the room. The erosion of civil liberties and the conduct of the Wars of Error chief among them.Although the Bush economic train wreck hogged election headlines there were still many... more
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"I think right now, the Bush people are bringing out their mission-accomplished sign, because they've not only gotten Obama to protect Bush and Cheney and others from any criminal investigation on torture, but he's now gone even further than they did in the protection of unlawful surveillance. This is the ultimate victory for the Bush officials. They have Barack Obama adopting the same extremist arguments, and in fact exceeding the extremist arguments made by President Bush...
"You cannot any longer suggest that President Obama is advancing the civil liberties and the privacy interests that he promised to advance. This is a terrible roll-back. It's a terrible decision. - GWU Law Professor Jonathan Turley,
Keith Olbermann on Obama and Wiretapping
Deeplink by Tim Jones
Last night, Countdown With Keith Olbermann on MSNBC had excellent coverage of and commentary on the Obama DOJ's radical new arguments in Jewel v. NSA, the EFF's lawsuit against the NSA for illegal surveillance. Here are the videos: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/keith-olbermann-obama-and-wiretapping
In Warrantless Wiretapping Case, Obama DOJ's New Arguments Are Worse Than Bush's
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obama-doj-worse-than-bush
"A society whose citizens refuse to see and investigate the facts, who refuse to believe that their government and their media will routinely lie to them and fabricate a reality contrary to verifiable facts, is a society that chooses and deserves the Police State Dictatorship it's going to get." - Ian Williams Goddard"I think right now, the Bush people are bringing out their mission-accomplished... more
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President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.
The move -- which holds that information surrounding the massive eavesdropping program should be kept from the public because of its sensitivity -- follows an earlier decision in March to block handover of documents relating to the Bush Administration's decision to spy on a charity. The arguments also mirror the Bush Administration's efforts to dismiss an earlier suit against AT&T.
The decision Friday involves a lawsuit filed by the civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is suing the NSA for the wiretapping program. The agency monitored the telephone calls and emails of thousands of people within the United States without a court's approval in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks.
In attempting to block a San Fransisco court from reviewing documents relating to the NSA program, the Obama Administration is also protecting other individuals named as defendants in the suit: Vice President Dick Cheney, former Cheney chief of staff David Addington and former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from... more
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yeah that is alot of surveillance equipment to be wasting in some warehouse.no more wire taps. comcast and verizon are big brothers little bitches.yeah that is alot of surveillance equipment to be wasting in some warehouse.no more... more
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This is a very unfortunate day for all Americans who wish to know the full extent to which our Constitutional Rights have been waved in how the War on Terror has been waged. Moving forward under a cloud of suspicion is not putting the past behind us; it's simply turning a blind eye to corruption at the highest levels. Is this obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting, or signal of how this administration plans to continue in step with the last? Move-On.org and the entire liberal blogosphere that helped Obama win should be raising the roof about this. A public outcry at least as loud as for the initial TARP fund should be raised. Obama needs to hear from us.
Despite President Obama's vow to open government more than ever, the Justice Department is defending Bush administration decisions to keep secret many documents about domestic wiretapping, data collection on travelers and U.S. citizens, and interrogation of suspected terrorists.This is a very unfortunate day for all Americans who wish to know the full extent to... more
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Andy Worthington does a remarkable job documenting the 10 most persistent lies of Dick Cheney about the following subjects:
1) On the supposed legality of unauthorized wiretapping
2) On the definition of torture
3) On intelligence obtained through torture
4) On approval for the use of torture on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
5) On the prisoners in Guantánamo
6) On the prisoners' rights
7) On conditions at Guantánamo
8) On the Military Commissions at Guantánamo
9) On the alleged recidivism of released prisoners
10) On the reason for invading IraqAndy Worthington does a remarkable job documenting the 10 most persistent lies of Dick... more
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Anthony Pellicano was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for running a wiretapping scheme that spied on the rich and famous.Anthony Pellicano was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for running a wiretapping... more
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A former Justice Department lawyer says he was the one who tipped off the news media about the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program because it "didn't smell right,"
Thomas Tamm, whose suburban Washington home was searched by federal agents last year, told the magazine he leaked the existence of the secret program to The New York Times 18 months before the newspaper broke the story.
"I thought this 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?" Tamm told Newsweek in what the magazine said were a series of recent interviews that he granted against the advice of his lawyers.
"If somebody were to say, who am I to do that? I would say, 'I had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution.' It's stunning that somebody higher up the chain of command didn't speak up,"A former Justice Department lawyer says he was the one who tipped off the news media... more
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The Justice Department has evaded a request from President-elect Barack Obama's transition team for documents about the secret programs of U.S. intelligence agencies.
The team wanted to "review classified legal opinions related to secret CIA and National Security Agency programs," but have been denied.
Requested are official documents about the "legal rationale" for the secret wiretapping and torture programs conducted by the two agencies.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey addressed the issue with reporters, saying that his department was reluctant to give up the documents without permission from the two agencies involved. "And so what we try to do is determine whether, and to what extent, we can clear that information"
What? Clear info for our new president?? Does Obama need permission from the CIA and NSA???The Justice Department has evaded a request from President-elect Barack Obama's... more
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Barack Obama has called on Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to resign following his arrest on charges that he tried to "sell" Mr Obama's senate seat.
FBI investigators said telephone intercepts showed that Mr Blagojevich had been offered campaign cash by a man who was interested in taking the seat.
"Under the current circumstances, it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois."Barack Obama has called on Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to resign following his... more
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The Fourth Amendment’s shield against invasive searches reaches only partially across the border, a federal appeals court ruled this week, finding that the nation’s spies don't need a court order to wiretap an American overseas, though there has to be a good reason for listening in.
The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals ruling (.pdf) fills in a gap in surveillance law and could complicate cases challenging both the government’s warrantless wiretapping program and a newly passed surveillance law that gives the government wide latitude to snoop from inside the United States without getting court orders.
The unsigned opinion found that wiretapping overseas was invasive, but that it made no sense to require a court order to wiretap or search an American overseas, since the warrant would have “dubious legal significance” in another country. The test, the court says, is whether the search is reasonable.
Monday’s ruling rejected the appeal of Wadih El-Hage, an American citizen convicted of conspiracy in the deadly 1998 al Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa. El Hage contended that the government violated his constitutional rights when it listened in for a year on two phone lines he used while living in Kenya.The Fourth Amendment’s shield against invasive searches reaches only partially... more
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US spymasters snooped on the private life of former prime minister Tony Blair, according to reports in the US.
Mr Blair was given the code named "Anchory" as his private telephone calls were routinely listened into and recorded.
A file on him was compiled at a giant US listening post run by the secretive National Security Agency.
The extraordinary admission was made by a former Navy communications operator who worked at a listening post in Fort Gordon, Georgia.
David Murfee Faulk told an American TV network ABC News's investigation unit that he saw a file on the "private life" of Blair in 2006.
He said his security clearance at the National Security Agency base allowed him access to many top-secret pieces of information.
Faulk declined to reveal the exact contents of the file, other than to tell ABC that it contained information of a "personal nature
The admissions will cause huge embarrassment to the US.US spymasters snooped on the private life of former prime minister Tony Blair,... more
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This makes good sense these guys have immunity!
An area that has been neglected recently is that of the illegal wiretapping and surveillance policies. That needs to change.
With all the commotion and hubbub surrounding the personalities and gossip of Obama's cabinet formation, and expression of everyone's opinion on how that should proceed, little has been said about the actual policies and actions (other than Iraq) that should be implemented right out of the gate. One area that has been neglected is that of the illegal wiretapping and surveillance policies and practices that were instituted in the country's name by the Cheney/Bush regime.
President Obama can end the immunity process. Consistent with his previous opposition to immunity -- then-Senator Obama voted in favor of Senator Dodd's amendment to strip the immunity provisions out of the FAA altogether -- Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to withdraw the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuits based on the immunity statute.
more@linkThis makes good sense these guys have immunity!
An area that has been neglected... more
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WASHINGTON—A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide the legal basis for the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 warrantless wiretapping program.
U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. signed an order Friday requiring the department to produce the memos by the White House legal counsel's office by Nov. 17. He said he will review the memos in private to determine if any information can be released publicly without violating attorney-client privilege or jeopardizing national security.
Kennedy issued his order in response to lawsuits by civil liberties groups in 2005 after news reports disclosed the wiretapping.
The department had argued that the memos were protected attorney-client communications and contain classified information.
But Kennedy said that the attorney-client argument was "too vague" and that he would have to look at the documents himself to determine if that argument is valid and also to see if there is information that can be released without endangering national security.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said Saturday the department is reviewing the opinion and will "respond appropriately in court."
Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush authorized the National Security Agency to spy on calls between people in the U.S. and suspected terrorists abroad without obtaining court warrants. The administration said it needed to act more quickly than the court could and that the president had inherent authority under the Constitution to order warrantless domestic spying.WASHINGTON—A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House... more
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A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide the legal basis for the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 warrantless wiretapping program.
A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide... more
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A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide the legal basis for the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 warrantless wiretapping program.
U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. signed an order Friday requiring the department to produce the memos by the White House legal counsel's office by Nov. 17. He said he will review the memos in private to determine if any information can be released publicly without violating attorney-client privilege or jeopardizing national security.
Kennedy issued his order in response to lawsuits by civil liberties groups in 2005 after news reports disclosed the wiretapping.
The department had argued that the memos were protected attorney-client communications and contain classified information.
But Kennedy said that the attorney-client argument was "too vague" and that he would have to look at the documents himself to determine if that argument is valid and also to see if there is information that can be released without endangering national security.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said Saturday the department is reviewing the opinion and will "respond appropriately in court."
Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush authorized the National Security Agency to spy on calls between people in the U.S. and suspected terrorists abroad without obtaining court warrants. The administration said it needed to act more quickly than the court could and that the president had inherent authority under the Constitution to order warrantless domestic spying.A judge has ordered the Justice Department to produce White House memos that provide... more
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