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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 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.

108 Maine Lawyers Urge Senators to Stop Telecom Immunity (01/21/2008)
PORTLAND, ME – Scores of Maine lawyers have joined forces to ask Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to reject a Senate bill that would grant retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies who allegedly provided their customers personal information to the National Security Agency without proper warrants. That bill is due to be considered by the Senate this week. A letter to the Senators signed by 108 Maine attorneys is attached.

Federal Judge Orders CIA and Defense Department to Produce Documents for Court Review (01/17/2008)
NEW YORK - A federal judge today ordered the CIA and the Department of Defense (DoD) to provide him with documents related to the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody overseas. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York ordered the government to make the documents available to him so he can determine for himself whether they should be made public pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations.

Bush Administration’s Final Real ID Regulations Still Fail the Grade, ACLU Scorecard Shows (01/17/2008)
WASHINGTON – A systematic analysis of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) final regulations for the Real ID Act reveals that the regulations still address only 11 percent of the problems with the act that have been identified, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

Independence is Needed in CIA Investigation (01/16/2008)
Washington, DC – As the House Select Intelligence Committee meets today for a closed-door hearing into the CIA destruction of interrogation videotapes, the American Civil Liberties Union reiterates its call for Attorney General Mukasey to appoint an outside special prosecutor. Two weeks ago, the attorney general launched a criminal investigation into the tapes’ destruction, headed by Deputy U.S. Attorney John Durham. Just yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee also sent a letter to the attorney general requesting a special counsel investigation.

ACLU in Federal Court Today Arguing for CIA Contempt for Destroying Interrogation Tapes (01/16/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today asked a federal judge to hold the CIA in contempt of court for destroying videotapes depicting the abusive interrogations of two detainees in its custody. The ACLU also argued for the release of other government documents relating to the abuse of prisoners including Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos authorizing the CIA and the Defense Department to use harsh interrogation methods, documents relating to the CIA Office of Inspector General investigations into prisoner abuse, and Defense Department videotapes believed to depict "Forced Cell Extraction" teams abusing Guantánamo prisoners.

Real ID Regulations: Just Kicking the Can Down the Road (01/11/2008)
In its new REAL ID regulations, the Department of Homeland Security appears to have dumped the problems of the statute on future presidents like a rotting corpse left on the steps of the next administration – and not just the next one, but the administration of whoever is president in 2018. By the time this thing is supposed to go fully into effect, Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush may be fighting for the White House.

Guantanamo Bay: Six Years and Counting… (01/10/2008)
Washington, DC – Tomorrow, January 11, 2008, marks six years since men and boys from around the world were first shipped off to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, locked up and often abused by the American government. Since that dark day in recent American history, more than 700 people have been detained without due process and not a single trial has been completed. The American Civil Liberties Union reiterates its call to Congress to shut down the detention facility immediately and restore due process rights for those being held.

ACLU Says FBI Can’t Manage Checkbook (01/10/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union responded to a summary report released yesterday by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The report, which details the FBI’s use of confidential case funds, showed that FBI wiretaps – at least one under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - have been disconnected due to the nonpayment of bills. The ACLU is asking for the full, 87-page report to be released.

ACLU Announces “Close Guantánamo” Campaign (01/08/2008)
NEW YORK – To coincide with the six-year anniversary of the arrival of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, the American Civil Liberties Union today announced its Close Guantánamo campaign. The ACLU is hosting more than 20 events across the country this week from Washington, DC to Boise, Idaho. In addition, the ACLU is calling on Americans to wear orange this Friday as an expression of opposition to indefinite detention at the U.S.-run prison and torture. Orange, the color of the jumpsuits worn by the first Gitmo detainees in photographs released by the Department of Defense in 2002, was chosen to represent torture tactics and prisoner abuse.

ACLU Names Inside-the-Beltway 'Best and Worst' for Civil Liberties in 2007 (01/03/2008)
Washington, DC – For the New Year, The American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office looked back on 2007 with its list released today, “2007: The Year We Didn’t Get Our Freedom Back.” It documents the top 10 worst threats to our civil liberties as well as the top 10 reasons not to lose complete faith in our government in 2007.

ACLU Asks Full Spy Court to Reconsider Refusal to Release Legal Rulings (12/21/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) asking the full court to reconsider a recent decision by Judge John D. Bates refusing to disclose orders and legal papers pertaining to the scope of the government's authority to engage in the secret wiretapping of Americans and the court's interpretation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Federal Judge Wrongly Allows Exclusion of Renowned Muslim Scholar (12/20/2007)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union strongly criticized a federal judge’s ruling today that allows the government’s exclusion of renowned Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan from the U.S. The ACLU continues to believe that Ramadan, a leading European academic whose work addresses Muslim identity and the role of Islam in democratic societies, remains banned due to his political viewpoints.

House Judiciary Committee Discusses Detainee Interrogations (12/20/2007)
Washington, DC – As the House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing today to examine whether federal criminal laws apply to the interrogations of detainees, the American Civil Liberties Union reiterates its call that Attorney General Mukasey appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any violations of federal criminal laws, including possible obstruction of justice, that resulted from these interrogations.