By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:21am
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held a hearing on the government’s warrantless wiretapping program (watch here). The law authorizing the program, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, expires at the end of this year.
Okay so you may know that we sued the government last week (you know it never really gets old, suing the government) when President Bush signed the FISA Amendments Act into law. This was not a "compromise bill" or a "modernization" bill, which is how they tried to sell it. Instead Congress basically handed the President even more power to spy on Americans than he was using under the illegal warrantless wiretapping program. Super, right?
Debate begins again. Senator Bond is on the floor once again saying plainly and, frankly a little smugly, that the FISA Amendments Act is the Senate bill with "cosmetic" fixes for the Democrats. Boasting is unattractive, Senator Bond. (BTW, why can no one in Congress pronounce "exigent" properly? Does that make you feel confident about their ability to discuss and legislate on these intricate matters? Me, neither.)
The Senate is taking up the FISA Amendments Act once again. Today they'll be debating it on the floor and then they'll vote tomorrow morning. Listen. It doesn't look good. Here's a quick rundown of the first bit of debate.
Senator Cardin spoke first then Senator Feingold came to the floor giving Senator Dodd props on his immunity work. He called the immunity provision a "rigged process" thereby cementing his place in my heart. Feingold also notes that at least 70 senators have not seen the documents outlining the legal underpinnings of the program that the Intelligence and Judiciary committees have had access to.
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 9:03am
Apparently, the Justice Department flew all of the federal judges who serve on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court, into Washington Monday for a classified briefing on the legality of the NSA warrantless surveillance program. Though mum's the word from all involved, The New York Times notes informati
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:18pm
The news has churned this week with coverage of the NSA scandal. Shifting focus from the very real privacy implications of the domestic surveillance, the more recent stories are really getting to the heart of the matter: that this is about the separation of powers.
Vice President Cheney helpfully confirmed that undertone in the story yesterday, telling reporters traveling with him on Air Force T
