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Senate Votes to End CIA Use of Torture
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was encouraged today when, by a vote of 51-45, the Senate voted to apply the Army Field Manual (AFM) on Interrogations government-wide. The Senate was voting on the Intelligence Authorization Conference Report (H.R. 2082), which includes the AFM provision. The legislation will now be sent to President Bush, who threatened to veto due to the AFM provision.

Let The Protect America Act Expire
Washington, DC –The ACLU exhorts members of the House to let the unconstitutional Protect America Act expire and stand strong on not letting the phone companies off the hook for law breaking.

ACLU Condemns Senate FISA Vote
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today slammed the U.S. Senate for not only authorizing the president’s warrantless wiretapping program but for granting immunity to his accomplices, the telecommunications companies. By a vote of 68 to 29, the Senate passed legislation amending and, in the end, gutting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The bill now must be conferenced with the House’s version of the bill – which contains no immunity and stricter Fourth Amendment protections – by February 16th, the recently extended expiration date of the equally disastrous Protect America Act.

Senate Poised to Approve Huge Giveaway to the Bells, Immunity deal may mean no day in court for Americans
Washington, DC –The U.S. Senate is likely to decide to grant immunity to telecommunications providers that broke the law over the past six years in a vote on an amendment to strip immunity from the Senate Intelligence Committee’s bill to gut the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on the immunity amendment Tuesday morning and if the amendment fails, as expected, the bill will be a multi-billion dollar giveaway to giant telecommunications companies.

Attorney General Mukasey Will Not Prosecute Criminal Acts by the CIA
Washington, DC – During today’s House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Department of Justice, Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) asked the attorney general point blank if he would begin a criminal investigation now that the director of the CIA has admitted instances of waterboarding. Attorney General Mukasey replied with a resounding “no.” When asked if the committee, which has the appropriate clearance, could have access to the legal opinion on which Mukasey is relying, the attorney general again denied the reasonable request.

Funding for Invasive Real ID Cons States in Exchange for Their Privacy
Washington, DC – After releasing regulations last month that failed to fix the manifold privacy and civil liberties violations of the Real ID Act, the federal government has left state governments to shoulder most of the cost of the onerous, invasive national ID program. The President’s budget proposal requests only $110 million in federal grant money toward the states for Real ID implementation, and even that money, if actually appropriated by Congress, will be split among Real ID and other programs.

Senate Spy Debate Set for Next Week
Washington, DC – On the eve of Groundhog Day, the American Civil Liberties Union warned the Senate not to doom itself to repeat history with its upcoming debate on warrantless wiretapping. Both the House and Senate passed a 15-day extension to the Protect America Act in response to President Bush’s claims that the "flow of vital intelligence" would be disrupted if Congress could not meet the February 1 deadline. Last night, the Senate reached an agreement on the rules of the debate which will take place Monday and Tuesday.

ACLU Urges Senators to Stand Firm on FISA
Washington, DC – Anticipating an important Senate vote on warrantless wiretapping on Monday, January 28, the American Civil Liberties Union released the following statement, which can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the Washington Office of the ACLU:

ACLU Condemns Senate Vote on Judiciary Amendment
Washington, DC – The Senate took its first step towards legitimizing the president’s warrantless wiretapping program today by voting against a substitute amendment to the FISA Amendments Act of 2007. By a vote of 60 to 34, senators rejected replacing the base bill with an alternate version authored by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

ACLU: DHS Border Crossing Plans Show Mix of Arrogance and Incompetence
WASHINGTON – Plans by the Department of Homeland Security to impose new identity-document requirements at the Canadian border in defiance of Congress are the latest example of the department’s characteristic combination of arrogance and incompetence, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

ACLU Welcomes Proposed State Secrets Fix, Applauds Senator Kennedy for Introduction of Legislation
Washington, DC – The Bush Administration may soon have one less tool in its chest to stymie legitimate cases that might expose government misconduct. Today, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), introduced legislation aimed at narrowing the scope of the state secrets privilege – a huge step towards opening the courthouse doors to people who have suffered real and legitimate harm by the government. Several important suits, including one involving the extraordinary rendition of a German citizen, Khaled El-Masri, have been successfully blocked by this administration’s use of the state secrets privilege.

Bush Administration’s Final Real ID Regulations Still Fail the Grade, ACLU Scorecard Shows
WASHINGTON – A systematic analysis of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final regulations for the Real ID Act reveals that the regulations still address only 11 percent of the problems with the act that have been identified, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

Independence is Needed in CIA Investigation
Washington, DC – As the House Select Intelligence Committee meets today for a closed-door hearing into the CIA destruction of interrogation videotapes, the American Civil Liberties Union reiterates its call for Attorney General Mukasey to appoint an outside special prosecutor. Two weeks ago, the attorney general launched a criminal investigation into the tapes’ destruction, headed by Deputy U.S. Attorney John Durham. Just yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee also sent a letter to the attorney general requesting a special counsel investigation.

Real ID Regulations: Just Kicking the Can Down the Road
In its new REAL ID regulations, the Department of Homeland Security appears to have dumped the problems of the statute on future presidents like a rotting corpse left on the steps of the next administration – and not just the next one, but the administration of whoever is president in 2018. By the time this thing is supposed to go fully into effect, Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush may be fighting for the White House.

ACLU Says FBI Can’t Manage Checkbook
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union responded to a summary report released yesterday by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The report, which details the FBI’s use of confidential case funds, showed that FBI wiretaps – at least one under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - have been disconnected due to the nonpayment of bills. The ACLU is asking for the full, 87-page report to be released.

Guantanamo Bay: Six Years and Counting…
Washington, DC – Tomorrow, January 11, 2008, marks six years since men and boys from around the world were first shipped off to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, locked up and often abused by the American government. Since that dark day in recent American history, more than 700 people have been detained without due process and not a single trial has been completed. The American Civil Liberties Union reiterates its call to Congress to shut down the detention facility immediately and restore due process rights for those being held.

ACLU Names Inside-the-Beltway 'Best and Worst' for Civil Liberties in 2007
Washington, DC – For the New Year, The American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office looked back on 2007 with its list released today, “2007: The Year We Didn’t Get Our Freedom Back.” It documents the top 10 worst threats to our civil liberties as well as the top 10 reasons not to lose complete faith in our government in 2007.

Pivotal Domestic Spying Debate Begins Today, Congress Decides on Warrantless Wiretapping and Telecom Immunity
Washington, DC – As the debate over domestic spying begins in the US Senate today, the American Civil Liberties Union urges senators to reject the Bush administration’s spying free-for-all and not provide immunity to telecommunications companies that broke the law over the past six years.

ACLU Slams Wider Spying By NSA, Demands Congress Rein in Spy Powers, Block Telecom Immunity
Washington, DC – This week the Senate will consider making vast changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and will determine whether telecommunications companies should be held liable for their role in President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program. The New York Times ran a story today that elaborated on the administration and National Security Agency’s domestic spying partnerships with certain phone companies. The following is a statement from Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

ACLU Urges Congress Not to Repeat History With FISA
Washington, DC – Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, and Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, were scheduled to hold a closed congressional briefing today with legislation aimed at amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The Senate is expected to vote in the coming days on FISA legislation largely shaped by the White House and passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The bill includes a provision that would give immunity to telecommunications companies who aided in the administration’s domestic spying. Also today, a bill introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) that would substitute the government as the plaintiff in cases currently pending against the telecoms was voted down in a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee.