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Government Drops Demand for Library Records (06/26/2006)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today declared victory in their legal battle with the FBI over a Connecticut library group's right to keep patron records private. After dropping their vehement defense of the gag provision accompanying the request, the FBI has now abandoned the demand all together.

Librarians Speak Out for First Time After Being Gagged by Patriot Act (05/30/2006)
NEW YORK -- Four Connecticut librarians who were gagged by the FBI spoke publicly for the first time today at an American Civil Liberties Union news conference about their months-long battle against Patriot Act demands for patrons' library records.

Ruling in ACLU Cases, Federal Judge Says Patriot Act “Gag” Provision is Undemocratic (05/24/2006)
NEW YORK -- A federal appeals court ruled yesterday on two constitutional challenges filed by the ACLU to the Patriot Act’s National Security Letter (NSL) provision, saying in one of the cases that a district court should consider the constitutionality of the provision in light of recent amendments made by Congress.

Justice Department Issues Review of Civil Liberties Abuses, ACLU Says Patriot Act Still Remains Shrouded in Secrecy (03/08/2006)
WASHINGTON - In a semi-annual report to Congress mandated by the Patriot Act, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General today released a report outlining allegations of civil rights and civil liberties abuses by department personnel in a broad range of areas, including mistreatment of federal prisoners, misuse of surveillance powers, mistreatment of protesters at the 2004 political conventions, and misuse of the material witness statute.

ACLU Says Cosmetic Changes to the Patriot Act Hollow, Measures Approved by the House Fail to Protect American Liberty and Privacy (03/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - As the House of Representatives approved a final set of amendments to the fundamentally flawed bill to reauthorize the expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed disappointment that the small package of amendments failed to protect the liberty and privacy of ordinary Americans. These amendments and the reauthorization bill passed the Senate last week without the changes needed to ensure these extraordinary powers are focused on suspected foreign terrorists and not innocent people. The House approved the flawed conference report last December.

ACLU Urges House and Senate to Fix Patriot Act Reauthorization, Says Modest Changes to Protect Constitution Must Be Included Before Passage (02/28/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged both the House of Representatives and the Senate to adopt modest, but necessary changes before voting on reauthorization of the controversial Patriot Act. The Senate is expected to vote on legislation to reauthorize the 2001 anti-terrorism law on Wednesday; the House is expected to vote on an amendment to their reauthorization bill this week.

In New Ad, ACLU Steps Up Call for Investigation of President’s Spying Order (01/05/2006)
NEW YORK -- As President George W. Bush continues to push for Patriot Act renewal, the American Civil Liberties Union ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times today criticizing the president for authorizing the National Security Agency to engage in illegal surveillance of Americans.

ACLU Says White House Usurps Patriot Act Reauthorization Process, Negotiators Neglect Privacy and Civil Liberties Concerns but Add Poison Pills (11/16/2005)
WASHINGTON - A conference committee tasked to reconcile differences between House and Senate Patriot Act bills ignored bipartisan calls to restore checks and balances on government power and protect privacy and civil liberties, the American Civil Liberties Union said today. The Republican-led conferees also attached several "poison pill" measures to the must-pass legislation, unrelated to the 2001 anti-terrorism law. The House and Senate are expected to vote on the bill this week.

Supreme Court Keeps Gag Intact as Appeals Court Set to Hear Patriot Act Challenge (10/07/2005)
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court today denied an emergency application to vacate a stay in the American Civil Liberties Union's challenge to a Patriot Act provision that authorizes the FBI to demand library and Internet records without judicial review. A district court judge had ordered a gag in the case lifted on September 9, but stayed the ruling on appeal; the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the stay.

ACLU's Client Remains Gagged as Clock Ticks in Patriot Act Debate (09/20/2005)
NEW YORK -- Following an open hearing in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, Judges Sotomayor, Wesley and Brieant granted a stay of U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall's decision enjoining the government from enforcing an FBI imposed gag. The gag is preventing the American Civil Liberties Union's client, a member of the American Library Association, from participating in the debate about the Patriot Act.

Federal Judge Orders FBI to Lift Patriot Act Gag on Librarian (09/09/2005)
NEW YORK -- A federal judge today ruled that the FBI must lift a gag that is preventing an organization with library records from participating in the Patriot Act debate. The opinion comes in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging a provision of the Patriot Act that authorizes the FBI to demand records without judicial review.

In Legal Papers Unsealed Today, Librarian Speaks of Fear of Imprisonment Over Government Gag in Patriot Act Challenge (09/01/2005)
NEW YORK - In previously sealed legal papers made public today by the American Civil Liberties Union, an unnamed librarian expressed fears of imprisonment if he were to violate a gag order in a challenge to a controversial Patriot Act power used by the FBI to demand library records.

FBI Uses Patriot Act to Demand Information with No Judicial Approval From Organization with Library Records (08/25/2005)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today disclosed that the FBI has used a controversial Patriot Act power to demand records from an organization that possesses ""a wide array of sensitive information about library patrons, including information about the reading materials borrowed by library patrons and about Internet usage by library patrons."" The FBI demand was disclosed in a new lawsuit filed in Connecticut, which remains under a heavy FBI gag order.

ACLU Denounces Senator Roberts' Patriot Act Expansion Bill, Says Constitutional Rights Need to Be Protected, Not Further Eroded (06/17/2005)
WASHINGTON -Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) formerly introduced legislation today designed to reauthorize - and expand - the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union today denounced the proposal, and called upon lawmakers to bring the act in line with the Constitution by restoring proper checks and balances.

Local Communities Join ACLU to Urge Patriot Act Reform In New Phase of National Campaign (06/17/2005)
WASHINGTON -Elected officials from communities that have passed Patriot Act reform resolutions visited Washington yesterday to urge congressional leaders to fix sections of the Patriot Act that put Americans' privacy and civil liberties at risk. Their travels to Washington are part of a new phase of the American Civil Liberties Union's campaign to reform the Patriot Act's most extreme provisions.

President Threatens to Veto Patriot Act Reform Legislation, Dismisses Bipartisan Calls for Checks and Balances (06/16/2005)
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has threatened to veto legislation passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives that would reform the controversial ""library records provision"" of the Patriot Act. The ""Freedom to Read"" proposal, offered by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), denies funding for FBI access to library and bookstore records under section 215 of the Patriot Act, and was approved by a bipartisan majority (238-187).

ACLU Applauds House Stance Against Intrusive Patriot Act Power; Bipartisan Majority Adopts "Freedom to Read" Amendment (06/15/2005)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the House of Representatives for adopting the "Freedom to Read" proposal - offered by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). It denies funding for FBI access to library and bookstore records under section 215 of the Patriot Act. A bipartisan majority (238-187) approved the measure as an amendment to a Department of Justice funding measure.

ACLU Says President Continuing Patriot Act "Charm Offensive," But Hasn't Silenced Bipartisan Calls for Reform (06/10/2005)
WASHINGTON - President Bush spoke today at the National Counterterrorism Center as part of the administration's renewed "charm offensive" on the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union called the president's remarks both misguided and deceitful. Key parts of the Patriot Act are set to "sunset" or expire at the end of the year, and the administration is pushing for reauthorization, and expansion, of the anti-terrorism law.

ACLU Says President Bush Misled Public on Patriot Act; Urges Congress to Bring Law In Line with the Constitution (06/09/2005)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union called the president's address today on the Patriot Act to law enforcement personnel in Columbus, Ohio both misguided and disingenuous. Key parts of that law are set to "sunset" or expire at the end of the year, and the administration is pushing to not only reauthorize the act, but to expand it.

House Judiciary Committee Holds Final Patriot Act Oversight Hearing; ACLU Prepares to Increase Pressure on Lawmakers for Reform (06/08/2005)
WASHINGTON - The House Judiciary Committee met today to hold its final oversight hearing on the Patriot Act, wrapping up weeks of testimony from both conservatives and liberals that changes are needed to restore checks and balances. The American Civil Liberties Union called on lawmakers to reject the administration's push to expand the controversial law, and instead bring it in line with the Constitution.