ACLU Says President Ignored State of Civil Liberties in Address; Bush Failed to Answer Questions on Patriot Act, NSA Spying

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly rebuked President Bush for failing to adequately address serious civil liberties concerns about his administration's actions since 9/11 in his State of the Union address delivered Tuesday. Specifically, the president failed to answer questions raised - from all points of the political spectrum - on his warrantless domestic spying program conducted by the National Security Agency and the over intrusive powers in the Patriot Act.

The following can be attributed to ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero:

"President Bush’s State of the Union address glossed over the serious problems with the Patriot Act and the warrantless NSA spying program. These are concerns shared by Democrats and Republicans alike. Parts of the Patriot Act and the entire illegal NSA spying program bypass judicial approval of government surveillance of American citizens. Despite his statements, the president has not been granted the power to authorize unconstitutional spying by the NSA in secret. Neither Congress nor the Constitution gave him that authority. Intercepting the domestic communications of Americans without judicial approval of any sort is illegal and unconstitutional, regardless of the number times the president says otherwise."

For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the warrantless NSA domestic spying program, go to:
/nsaspying

For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the Patriot Act, go to:
http://www.reformthepatriotact.org