Home : Safe and Free : General

Specter Substitution is Immunity by Another Name
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject a bill offered by ranking member Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). Senator Specter’s bill, the FISA Intelligence Surveillance Substitution Act of 2007, would remove the telecommunications companies and insert the federal government as the defendant in cases currently pending over domestic spying. The bill is scheduled to be marked up by the full Senate Judiciary Committee today.

ACLU Outlines Reasons Why Independent Prosecutor Is Necessary
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today sent a detailed 12-page letter to all members of Congress urging them to demand that Attorney General Mukasey appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any violations of federal criminal laws related to the interrogation of detainees, including any obstruction of justice.

New “Fusion Centers” Must Be Open, Carefully Monitored and Subject to Restraints, ACLU Says In New Report
WASHINGTON – New institutions now emerging in American life – “fusion centers” – are raising many questions about privacy and government openness and must be carefully bounded and monitored to ensure that they remain a legitimate and effective law enforcement tool, according to a new report released today by the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU Asks Majority Leader Reid to Allow the Senate to Vote for Fourth Amendment Protections, Cheers Senators Who Take a Stand Against Immunity
Washington, DC -- The American Civil Liberties Union is calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow the Senate to vote for the Judiciary Committee’s FISA bill without letting the Bells off the hook.

Court Rules “Material Support” Provision of Patriot Act Unconstitutional
NEW YORK - In yet another ruling striking down a provision of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Monday that some portions of the act that criminalize support of blacklisted foreign organizations are unconstitutionally vague. Yesterday's ruling in the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholds a 2005 decision by U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins.

ACLU Calls for Independent Prosecutor to Investigate Destruction of CIA Interrogation Tapes
Washington, DC – With the news yesterday that the Central Intelligence Agency destroyed at least two videotapes documenting the brutal interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on Attorney General Mukasey to appoint an independent counsel to investigate, and if appropriate, prosecute any potential criminal activity. One of the tapes, made in 2002, purportedly shows the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, who U.S. officials have acknowledged was subjected to waterboarding. The CIA destroyed the tapes in November 2005.

ACLU Slams Department of Justice Spy Opinions
Washington, DC – Today, following revelations by Senate Intelligence Committee member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on secret legal opinions regarding the administration's domestic spying program, the American Civil Liberties Union called on Congress to reject excessive surveillance powers for the administration. The opinions, from the Office of Legal Counsel, were written by the request of the administration as it was searching for new law enforcement and intelligence techniques. The Senate is currently weighing its options with legislation aimed at amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - the very law President Bush circumvented with his warrantless wiretapping program. In August, the ACLU filed a motion requesting that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) make public the very rulings that Senator Whitehouse spoke of. In an unprecedented order, the FISC required the U.S. government to respond to the request and a decision from the court is pending.

ACLU Cheers House and Senate Intel Bill Conferees for Including Provision Prohibiting Torture and Abuse
Washington, DC – The ACLU was encouraged today that House and Senate conferees included a provision to the 2008 intelligence authorization bill (HR 2082) which would apply the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogations government-wide. The provision, added to the conference report by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would require all government agencies, including the CIA, to abide by the Army Field Manual – which prohibits torture and abuse tactics against persons held in U.S. custody.

ACLU Says Specter Substitution Misses the Mark in FISA Debate
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to thoroughly scrutinize a new bill offered by ranking member Senator Specter (R-PA). Senator Specter’s bill, the FISA Intelligence Surveillance Substitution Act of 2007, would remove the telecommunications companies and insert the federal government as the defendant in cases currently pending over domestic spying. The bill will be marked up by the full Judiciary Committee this Thursday.

ACLU Urges Vote On Senate Judiciary FISA Bill and Rejection of Telecom Immunity
Statement from Caroline Fredrickson

ACLU Statement on the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007
Washington, D.C. – The ACLU continues to have serious concerns regarding the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1955). Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the Washington Legislative Office of the ACLU said, "Law enforcement should focus on action, not thought. We need to worry about the people who are committing crimes rather than those who harbor beliefs that the government may consider to be extreme."

House of Representatives Vote to End CIA’s Secret Torture Program
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union was pleased the House of Representatives passed language applying the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogations government-wide. The language was included in the emergency supplemental appropriations bill that funds the Department of Defense. The Army Field Manual prohibits torture and abuse, including waterboarding, and also authorizes an array of specific interrogation tactics.

ACLU Cheers No Telecom Immunity Vote from Judiciary Committee, Lauds Chairman Leahy, Sen. Feingold and Rep. Holt’s Actions
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union is delighted that the Senate Judiciary Committee chose not to address telecom immunity in its version of a bill updating Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Although the rest of the bill does not pass constitutional muster, the ACLU applauds the Committee for not letting the bells off the hook.

Patriot Act Victim Speaks Out on Spy Bill
Washington, DC – Brandon Mayfield, an Oregon attorney falsely linked to terrorism, sent a statement to Congress this month urging the body against legislation that would overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Mayfield was subject to unconstitutional surveillance under the Patriot Act and subsequently arrested and held without charge. Mayfield wrote a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee members Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Russell Feingold (D-WI) asking that they consider the effect that the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 would have on innocent Americans.

ACLU Says Spy Law Still Needs Work
Washington, DC – After proposals to alter portions of a surveillance bill were released by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union once again urged meaningful constitutional protections be added to the legislation. The FISA Amendments Act seeks to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and was written in response to the so-called Protect America Act that was rushed through Congress in August. The bill as drafted by the Senate Intelligence Committee includes immunity for the telecommunications companies for their role in the administration’s domestic spying program. The Judiciary Committee is expecting to take up that provision next week.

Full Senate Should Seek What the Judiciary Committee Failed To Obtain
WASHINGTON – As the Senate Judiciary Committee voted today to approve the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey for attorney general, the American Civil Liberties Union now calls upon the full Senate to obtain what the committee could not – an admission from the nominee that waterboarding and other extreme interrogation tactics are torture. During the confirmation hearings and in his responses to further questions, Judge Mukasey carefully avoided stating whether waterboarding is torture when authorized by the federal government, as well as refusing to say that it is also illegal for foreign countries to waterboard, beat and shock American citizens.

Judiciary Committee Should Not Advance Mukasey's Nomination Until He Denounces Acts of Torture
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union urges members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to oppose moving forward with the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey for attorney general unless Mukasey states that waterboarding and other extreme interrogations tactics are torture. Throughout the confirmation hearings and in his responses to the questions of Judiciary Committee members, Judge Mukasey remained unwilling to declare waterboarding as torture when authorized by the federal government. He also refused to say that it is illegal for foreign countries to waterboard, beat and shock American citizens. The ACLU sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee leadership asking them to oppose moving forward without such commitments.

DHS Plans to Water Down Real ID in Last-Ditch Effort to Lure States In; Privacy Threats Remain
Washington, DC – State officials across the country were told in a private conference call with the Department of Homeland Security that Real ID restrictions on Americans would be weakened to the point that they would negate the original intent of the program, those officials told the ACLU.

ACLU, MoveOn, People For the American Way and 250,000 Americans tell Congress - “Don’t Let the Bells Off the Hook”
Washington, DC – After the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to consider domestic surveillance legislation, activists sent a clear message to Capitol Hill – don’t let the bells off the hook for domestic spying. The American Civil Liberties Union, MoveOn.org Political Action, People For the American Way and bloggers from Open Left, Salon, Fire Dog Lake and others delivered petitions to Senate and House offices today illustrating Americans’ widespread opposition to granting immunity to telecom companies that may have aided in the violation of Fourth Amendment and privacy rights. Petitions circulated by the groups garnered more than 250,000 signatures from concerned constituents.

ACLU Warns Congress Not to Legalize Warrantless Wiretapping
Washington, DC – As the Senate Judiciary Committee met to hear testimony on the FISA Amendment Act, the American Civil Liberties Union once again voiced its opposition to the proposed legislation and called for strict Fourth Amendment protections. The legislation contains some of the same language as the so-called Protect America Act, including "basket warrants" that give federal agents the power to intercept Americans’ communications without the individual warrants that the Fourth Amendment requires. The FISA Amendment Act also includes a provision that would grant telecommunications companies immunity for their role in the administration’s domestic spying program.