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ACLU Urges Senators to Oppose Unconstitutional Surveillance Bill (07/08/2008)
Washington, DC – With the Senate debate continuing and a vote expected on the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 this Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union once again urged senators to vote against the unconstitutional bill, which will allow the government to monitor calls and emails without a warrant and without meaningful court review.

ACLU Asks Federal Court To Reinstate Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (06/30/2008)
The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a brief asking a federal appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program on the grounds that the government misused the "state secrets" privilege to have the case thrown out. Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen was dismissed in February after the government intervened, inappropriately invoking the privilege to avoid legal scrutiny of an unlawful program.

U.S. Government Announces Charges Against USS Cole Suspect Al-Nashiri In Guantánamo Military Commission System (06/30/2008)
NEW YORK - Even while the Bush administration's Guantánamo policy continues to crumble, the U.S. government announced charges today against another detainee. The government is seeking the death penalty for Abd Al-Rahim Hussain Mohammed Al-Nashiri, who is being charged for his alleged involvement in crimes including the USS Cole bombing. The American Civil Liberties Union is sponsoring civilian attorneys to represent Al-Nashiri through its John Adams Project, a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to supplement the under-resourced military defense teams that have been assigned to detainees.

ACLU Urges Senate to Reject Unconstitutional Surveillance Bill (06/26/2008)
Washington, DC --The ACLU urges Senators to reject legislation that eviscerates the oversight structure of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

ACLU Commends House Judiciary Subcommittee for Continued Investigation into Whether High-Level Officials Authorized Torture (06/25/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties for their continued efforts to uncover the full extent of this administration’s approval of torture in the interrogation of detainees. Tomorrow’s hearing is the last in a series of three held by the subcommittee on torture, and the first time both David Addington, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, and John Yoo, formerly of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), are scheduled to testify before Congress on their roles in approving the use of torture. An important focus of the series of hearings has been whether high-level government officials violated federal criminal laws against torture and abuse.

ACLU Challenges Government's Ban On Renowned South African Scholar In Federal Court Today (06/25/2008)
BOSTON – Today in federal court, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Massachusetts challenged the government's refusal to grant a visa to respected South African scholar Adam Habib. Last fall, the State Department refused Habib a visa after months of inaction, claiming that he is barred because he has "engaged in terrorist activities," but the government failed to explain the basis for its inflammatory accusation, let alone provide a single piece of evidence to prove it.

ACLU Applauds Committee Passage of National Security Letter Reform (06/24/2008)
Washington, DC – Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties approved legislation that would greatly reduce the scope of the National Security Letter (NSL) statute. NSLs are secret government requests for information that are used to collect private records without judicial oversight. The FBI’s gross misuse and abuse of the NSL statute has led to consecutive and embarrassing reports issued by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General. In March, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the ACLU also uncovered abuses of the NSL statute by the Department of Defense.

House Approves Unconstitutional Surveillance Legislation (06/20/2008)
Washington, DC – Following a vote in the House of Representatives sanctioning warrantless wiretapping and handing immunity to telecommunications companies for their role in domestic spying, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at representatives who voted for the unconstitutional legislation. The bill, H.R. 6304, or The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed the chamber by a vote of 293-129, and is expected to be voted on in the Senate next week.

Unconstitutional FISA Spying and Immunity Deal Threatens Maine Complaint (06/20/2008)
The MCLU condemned the House vote on final passage on changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which gives the telecommunications companies immunity and expands the National Security Agency warrantless surveillance. HR 6304 likely means an end Maine consumer privacy complaint before the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Both Maine Congressmen Allen and Michaud voted against the bill citing civil liberties concerns. Unfortunately the House voted 293 to 129 to approve the bill.

ACLU Condemns FISA Deal, Declares Surveillance Bill Unconstitutional (06/19/2008)
Washington, DC – With news that a surveillance bill may be voted on in the House of Representatives as early as tomorrow, the American Civil Liberties Union sternly warned members against voting for the legislation. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has worked closely with the White House and has led the effort to gut the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and give the telephone companies what amounts to a pardon for breaking the law.

ACLU Monitoring Unconstitutional Guantánamo Military Commissions This Week (06/18/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantánamo monitoring the military commission hearings scheduled to take place this week. The hearings of Omar Khadr and Mohammed Jawad are the first since the Supreme Court ruled last week that the Constitution applies to Guantánamo and that all 270 prisoners there can challenge their indefinite detention in federal court. The ACLU has been present as an independent observer at every commission hearing since 2004 and continues to see no indication that the proceedings are fair, impartial or in accordance with constitutional principles.

ACLU Challenges Government's Stigmatizing Of Mainstream Muslim Groups In Holy Land Case (06/18/2008)
DALLAS - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Texas filed a legal challenge today to clear the names of two mainstream Muslim organizations labeled by the government as "unindicted co-conspirators" in its criminal case against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF). Government attorneys publicly identified the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) as co-conspirators before the HLF trial, even though neither organization was the subject of a criminal investigation or charged with any crimes.

ACLU Applauds House Judiciary Subcommittee on Continuing Its Examination into Torture Approval (06/18/2008)
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union applauds Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on holding the second in a series of three hearings to determine who authorized or ordered torture and abuse during interrogations at Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan and in secret government torture cells around the world. In today’s hearing the subcommittee will hear from three former high-level officials in the Bush administration.

ACLU Urges Congress Not to Legalize Warrantless Wiretapping (06/13/2008)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union comments on a reported deal on gutting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office

ACLU of Maryland Files Lawsuit to Obtain Information Related to Government Spying on Peace Groups (06/12/2008)
BALTIMORE - Concerned that the Maryland State Police (MSP) are hiding information related to surveillance of local peace activists and groups, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today filed a lawsuit against the MSP for refusing to disclose a record in response to a public information request. Following a disturbing national trend of government surveillance of political and religious groups, the Maryland ACLU has been seeking information from federal and state agencies to learn whether such surveillance has happened in the Free State.