American Civil Liberties Union

The ACLU's National Security Project (NSP) advocates for national security policies that are consistent with the Constitution, the rule of law, and fundamental human rights. The Project litigates cases relating to detention, torture, discrimination, surveillance, censorship, and secrecy. Originally created as an informal working group after the September 2001 attacks, the National Security Project is now at the forefront of virtually every major legal battle relating to national security, civil liberties, and human rights.

Contact us: nspintake[a]aclu.org

MAJOR CASES

AAR v. Chertoff and ASA v. Chertoff – During the Cold War, the U.S. government successive administrations routinely denied visas to foreign intellectuals, writers, and artists who were thought to be sympathetic to communism. Foreign scholars were barred solely because of their views and ideas, not because they had done something wrong. Since the September 2001 attacks, the U.S. government has once again been excluding foreign nationals whose political views it disagrees with. The ACLU represents American organizations – including the American Association of University Professors and PEN American Center – in challenges to the exclusion of Oxford University Professor Tariq Ramadan and South African scholar Adam Habib.

ACLU v. DOD (Torture FOIA) – Since 2003, the ACLU has been involved in a project under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain records concerning the abuse of prisoners held by the U.S. in detention centers overseas. The litigation, which is pending before a district court in New York, has thus far yielded more than 100,000 pages of government records, including memos in which Justice Department lawyers endeavored to supply a legal basis for torture.

Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli – Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri is the only remaining individual held in the United States as an “enemy combatant.” Al-Marri, a Qatari national, who came lawfully to the United States with his wife and five children, was first arrested by the FBI at his home in 2001 for credit card fraud. His case was scheduled to go to trial in July 2003, but was halted when President Bush took the extraordinary step of designating al-Marri an “enemy combatant.” Since then, he has been held in solitary confinement without charge at a Navy brig in South Carolina . At stake in the case is whether the President can order the seizure and indefinite detention without charge or trial, individuals lawfully residing in the United States, including American citizens, based on government assertions that he planned to commit terrorist activities. The case will be reviewed by the Supreme Court after a narrow decision from the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruling that the President had legal authority to imprison al-Marri indefinitely without charge based on the facts alleged.

Amnesty v. McConnell – In the summer of 2008, Congress enacted the FISA Amendments Act, which authorizes the warrantless dragnet collection of Americans' international telephone and e-mail communications. The ACLU filed suit less than an hour after the President signed the Act into law. Our challenge to the law's constitutionality is pending before a district court in New York .

Doe v. Ashcroft – The USA Patriot Act, enacted by Congress in the days after the September 2001 attacks, dramatically expanded the FBI's authority to issue “national security letters” that compel private entities – including banks, libraries, and Internet service providers – to disclose sensitive information about their customers, patrons, and subscribers. The FBI routinely imposes “gag” orders on those who are served with national security letters. We have challenged the constitutionality of the statute that permits these gag orders under the First Amendment. Our challenge was successful in the district court, and the government's appeal is pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc. v. Paulson et al. – The USA Patriot Act and an executive order issued by President Bush in 2001 give the executive branch virtually unfettered authority to shut down organizations, including charities and humanitarian agencies, based merely on the suspicion of involvement in terrorism financing.  The ACLU represents Ohio-based KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, Inc., a charity that had its assets frozen for over 31 months without notice, a hearing or independent judicial review, simply because the government stated it was “under investigation.” A federal district court in Ohio initially issued an emergency stay blocking the government from designating KindHearts as a terrorist organization. We have asked the Court to review the constitutionality of the government's freeze of KindHearts pending investigation, and to prohibit any designation until the government has provided KindHearts the due process required by the Constitution.

Mohamed et al. v. Jeppese n Dataplan, Inc. – Since the September 2001 attacks, the U.S. has operated an extensive e xtraordinary rendition program – illegally kidnapping foreign nationals and transporting them to secret “black site” prisons or countries like Egypt , Syria , and Morocco , where they can be detained without charge or trial and interrogated without legal restraints. The ACLU represents five men who were kidnapped by the CIA and transported to prisons overseas and interrogated under torture. The suit seeks to hold accountable Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for knowingly providing services to the CIA, including critical planning and logistical support services for aircraft and crews used to transport the plaintiffs to torture. We are awaiting a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after the CIA intervened to block the litigation by improperly asserting the “state secrets privilege.”

STAFF

Jameel Jaffer – Director
Jameel Jaffer is the Director of the ACLU's National Security Project.  He has litigated cases concerning the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the FBI's use of “national security letters,” the government's practice of ideological exclusion, and the abuse and torture of prisoners held at Guantanamo and other U.S. detention centers overseas. He has testified before Congress about issues relating to government surveillance and, since 2004, he has served as a human rights monitor for the military commissions at Guantanamo.  His book, Administration of Torture (co-authored with ACLU attorney Amrit Singh ), was published by Columbia University Press in 2007. Prior to joining the staff of the ACLU, he served as law clerk to Hon. Amalya L. Kearse, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada.  He is a graduate of  Williams College, Cambridge University, and Harvard Law School. 

Melissa Goodman – Staff Attorney
Melissa Goodman is a Staff Attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project.  She has litigated cases concerning the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the FBI and the Defense Department's use of “national security letters,” the government's practice of ideological exclusion, and the CIA's “extraordinary rendition” program.  Ms. Goodman is a graduate of New York University College of Arts and Science and New York University Law School. Prior to working at the ACLU, Ms. Goodman served as law clerk to the Hon. Frederic Block, United States District Court for the Eastern District.

Jon Hafetz – Staff Attorney
Jonathan Hafetz is a Staff Attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project.  Mr. Hafetz has helped coordinate the Guantánamo detainee habeas corpus litigation since its earliest stages. He is counsel in Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli, a landmark case challenging the indefinite military detention of a lawful resident alien arrested in the United States. He also served as co-counsel in Munaf v. Geren and Omar v. Geren, cases involving U.S. citizens detained in Iraq that were decided by the Supreme Court in 2008. Mr. Hafetz writes and lectures widely about national security issues, has testified before Congress as an expert on habeas corpus and is a frequent commentator on national security issues. Mr. Hafetz previously served as Litigation Director for the Liberty and National Security Project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. He also formerly served as a Gibbons Fellow in Public Interest and Constitutional Law at Gibbons, P.C., and as a law clerk to the Hon. Jed S. Rakoff, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Sandra L. Lynch, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Denny LeBoeuf – Staff Attorney / Director of the John Adams Project
Denny LeBoeuf is a Staff Attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project and the Director of the ACLU's John Adams Project, assisting in the defense of the capitally charged Guantanamo detainees. Ms. LeBoeuf is a longtime capital defender, particularly in cases where mental health, race and poverty increase the traumatic burden carried by many clients. She has represented persons facing death at trial and in post-conviction in state and federal courts, and she teaches and consults with capital defense teams nationally. She was the founding Director of the Capital Post-Conviction Project in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was a member of the 2003 Committee that formulated the ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, and was Chair of the post-Katrina Orleans Parish Public Defenders Board 2006-2007. She holds a J.D. from Tulane University and a B.A. from Hunter College.

Larry Schwartztol – Staff Attorney
Larry Schwartztol is a Staff Attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project.  His litigation docket focuses on government surveillance policies and the maintenance of government watchlists.  Before joining NSP, Mr. Schwartztol worked in the ACLU's Racial Justice Program, where he litigated school equity cases. He graduated from Yale Law School and received his B.A. from the University of Chicago. Prior to working at the ACLU, Mr. Schwartztol was a Liman Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and served as a law clerk to Hon. Harry T. Edwards on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Ben Wizner – Staff Attorney
Ben Wizner is a Staff Attorney in the ACLU's National Security Project. He has been involved in the litigation of cases concerning post-9/11 civil liberties violations, including two challenge s to the CIA's extraordinary rendition program, legal challenges aimed at exposing FBI and Pentagon surveillance of non-violent protestors, and suits challenging the discriminatory removal of Arab and South Asian men from commercial flights and other public venues. He has traveled to Guantánamo Bay to observe and report on Military Commission trials. Mr. Wizner is a graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law. Prior to working at the ACLU, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Alexander Abdo – Fellow
Alexander Abdo is a Fellow in the ACLU's National Security Project. He has been involved in the litigation of cases concerning the Patriot Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the treatment of detainees in Guantánamo Bay, Afghanistan , Iraq , and the Navy brig in South Carolina. Mr. Abdo is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School. Prior to working at the ACLU, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Barbara M.G. Lynn, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, and to the Hon. Rosemary Barkett, United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ateqah Khaki – Advocacy Coordinator
Ateqah Khaki is the Advocacy Coordinator for the ACLU's National Security Project. Prior to joining the ACLU, Ms. Khaki worked as a publicist for Riptide Communications, a human rights and social justice-focused public relations firm that works with non-profit organizations. She has worked on a variety of issues, including campaigns related to corporate accountability, environmental justice, peace and justice work, poverty awareness, and the growing movement to hold the United States accountable to international human rights standards. She is a 2005 graduate of Whitman College.

Anna Christensen – Paralegal
Anna Christensen is a Paralegal in the ACLU's National Security Project. She is a 2007 graduate of Brown University.

Leila Tabbaa – Legal Administrative Assistant
Leila Tabbaa is a Legal Administrative Assistant in the ACLU's National Security Project. She is 2007 a graduate of Wesleyan University.