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MCLU Denounces Senate Vote to Expand Warrantless Surveillance (02/12/2008)
PORTLAND- The MCLU expressed strong disappointment with Maine’s two Senators after they backed the Bush Administration’s extension of a law that would vastly expand the government’s ability to spy on Americans without a warrant. The Senate bill, which passed on Tuesday in a 68-29 vote with both Maine’s Senators voting in favor, would extend the government’s power to bypass the safeguards that have been part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, (FISA), which was enacted after the Watergate scandal to provide a court check on government surveillance. Several amendments that would have safeguarded civil liberties were defeated as was an amendment that would have stripped telecom immunity from the bill. Telecom immunity could possibly bring to a close the Maine Public Utilities Commission inquiry into whether Verizon violated Mainers’ privacy by collaborating with the National Security Agency.

ACLU Condemns Senate FISA Vote (02/12/2008)
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.

Military Prosecutors Plan To Use Flawed Commissions System To Seek Death Penalty For Guantánamo Detainees (02/11/2008)
NEW YORK - The United States military has announced its intention to prosecute and seek the death penalty for six detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, despite a flawed military commissions system there that has yet to try a single case. The Bush administration’s military commissions have been riddled with ethical and legal challenges, including a 2006 Supreme Court decision that struck down the first version of the system as unconstitutional. Among other things, the commission proceedings allow the admission of coerced evidence that may have been obtained through practices condemned throughout the world as torture. Last week, CIA Director Michael Hayden confirmed that one of the men who will be tried, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was waterboarded by CIA agents during interrogations.

Attorney General Mukasey Will Not Prosecute Criminal Acts by the CIA (02/07/2008)
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.

Mukasey to Defend Statements on Waterboarding Before the House Judiciary Committee (02/07/2008)
WASHINGTON – Today, Attorney General Michael Mukasey is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee’s Department of Justice oversight hearing. Expected to be discussed is the attorney general’s refusal to firmly state his position on waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, which were heavily debated in Mukasey’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. The American Civil Liberties Union has long pointed to the historic position of the United States that those methods are torture. The Administration should prohibit their use by any American personnel.

Funding for Invasive Real ID Cons States in Exchange for Their Privacy (02/06/2008)
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.

ACLU In Court Today In Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary That Aided CIA “Torture Flights” (02/05/2008)
SAN JOSE, CA - The American Civil Liberties Union will argue in federal court today for the continuation of its case against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. for the company’s role in the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” program. The ACLU is opposing the government’s attempt to throw out the case by misusing the “state secrets” privilege in an effort to avoid legal scrutiny of the unlawful and shameful program.

ACLU To Monitor Military Commission Hearings At Guantánamo Bay This Week (02/04/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union will be at Guantánamo Bay this week to monitor the military commission hearings of Canadian national Omar Ahmed Khadr and Yemeni national Salim Ahmed Hamdan. In each hearing, a U.S. military judge will determine whether the commission has proper jurisdictional authority to hear the U.S. government’s case. Khadr and Hamdan are two of only four Guantánamo detainees to face charges since Congress’ 2006 reinstatement of the commissions after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the system established by the Bush administration.

MCLU Applauds Public Utilities Commission Order On Sale Of Verizon To FairPoint (02/04/2008)
PORTLAND, ME - The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) today released an order that will allow its investigation into Verizon’s alleged abuses of customer privacy to continue. The order requires that, as a condition of the sale of Verizon assets to FairPoint Communications, the PUC retain jurisdiction over the telecomm giant even after the transaction with FairPoint has been completed.

Senate Spy Debate Set for Next Week (02/01/2008)
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 Congress to Stand for a Constitutional FISA (01/30/2008)
Washington, DC – As both the Senate and House consider legislation on government spying on Americans, the ACLU urges members of Congress not to cave in to White House requests for immunity for telecommunications providers and asks for a no vote on any bill with warrantless wiretapping.

House Hearing a Step Towards Progress on State Secrets Privilege (01/29/2008)
Washington, DC –The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Oversight heard today from witnesses giving testimony on the state secrets privilege. Historically, the privilege has been used to give the government an opportunity to prevent the disclosure of evidence that would legitimately harm national security. In the hands of the Bush administration, it has been used as an alternative form of immunity that is increasingly being used to shield the government and its agents from accountability for systemic violations of the Constitution. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) has introduced legislation in the Senate that would go a long way in narrowing the scope of the privilege.

ACLU Encourages Senate Rebellion on Spy Law (01/28/2008)
Washington, DC – Today in a procedural vote, Senate Democrats and key Republicans are set to stand firm against the administration’s attempt to widely expand warrantless wiretapping. A motion to end debate and prevent future amendments from being offered to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s version of the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 will likely be blocked this afternoon. This will set up the Senate for a much more productive procedure and will allow senators the chance to fix the fatally flawed bill.

ACLU Urges Senators to Stand Firm on FISA (01/25/2008)
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 (01/24/2008)
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 Asks Federal Appeals Court to Lift Ban on Renowned Scholar (01/23/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union appealed a federal judge’s ruling today to challenge the government’s exclusion of renowned Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan from the U.S. The ACLU continues to believe that the government’s stated reason for barring the scholar is a pretext and that Ramadan, a leading European academic whose work addresses Muslim identity and the role of Islam in democratic societies, remains banned from the country because of his political viewpoints.

ACLU: DHS Border Crossing Plans Show Mix of Arrogance and Incompetence (01/22/2008)
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 (01/22/2008)
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.