In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for records related to the U.S. government's implementation of the invasive FISA Amendments Act (FAA) surveillance power, the government released over 900 pages of records to the ACLU. Although many of these records are heavily or even entirely redacted, the documents do shine some light on the government's interpretation, use, and abuse of the FAA spying power.
Regardless of abuses, the problem with the FAA is more fundamental: the statute itself is unconstitutional. The ACLU has challenged the constitutionality of the FAA in federal court because giving the executive branch the power to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans' international telephone calls and e-mails en masse, without a warrant, without suspicion of any kind, and with only very limited judicial oversight, violates the Fourth and First Amendments. The case, Amnesty v. Blair, is currently on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Learn more about the FAA >>
Learn more about the ACLU's lawsuit, Amnesty v. Blair >>
See the initial FOIA request >>
November 29, 2010 cover letter regarding FAA FOIA document release >>
ACLU summary of FAA FOIA documents received on November 29, 2010 >>
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
NSA: National Security Agency
ODNI: Office of the Director of National Intelligence
DOJ OLA: Department of Justice Office of Legal Affairs