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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.

ACLU Demands Records of CIA Tape Destruction From White House, FBI (12/19/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed papers asking a federal judge to order the White House, the FBI, and other government agencies to produce all records in their possession relating to the destruction of two videotapes by CIA operatives in 2005 as well as transcripts and summaries of the tapes. The ACLU’s filing comes in the wake of revelations that administration officials took part in discussions with the CIA about whether to destroy the tapes, which show the harsh interrogations of two prisoners in U.S. custody, Abu Zubaida and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Today’s filing is an addendum to a motion to hold the CIA in contempt of court filed by the ACLU last week.

ACLU Demands Disclosure of Legal Memos Justifying Illegal Spying (12/18/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Security Archive and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) today filed papers urging a federal judge to compel the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to disclose legal and policy memos relating to the National Security Agency’s (NSA) warrantless wiretapping program. Two years after the media’s disclosure that the NSA was secretly intercepting the phone calls and emails of people in the United States without a warrant in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the government continues to withhold documents that could shed light on its legal justification for the program.

Military Commission Judge Rebuffs Bush Administration and Applies Geneva Conventions to Guantánamo Detainee (12/18/2007)
NEW YORK – In a rebuke to Bush administration policy, a military commission judge found Monday that Guantánamo Bay detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan is entitled to a determination of whether he is a prisoner of war protected by the Geneva Conventions, which govern the rights and treatment of captives in wartime.

Victory for Civil Liberties (12/17/2007)
Washington, D.C. – In a clear victory for civil libertarians, the debate over domestic spying is delayed until after the holiday recess. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced the delay tonight on the floor of the U.S. Senate after Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) led an effort to keep immunity for telecommunications companies out of Senate legislation.

Pivotal Domestic Spying Debate Begins Today, Congress Decides on Warrantless Wiretapping and Telecom Immunity (12/17/2007)
Washington, DC – As the debate over domestic spying begins in the US Senate today, the American Civil Liberties Union urges senators to reject the Bush administration’s spying free-for-all and not provide immunity to telecommunications companies that broke the law over the past six years.

ACLU Slams Wider Spying By NSA, Demands Congress Rein in Spy Powers, Block Telecom Immunity (12/16/2007)
Washington, DC – This week the Senate will consider making vast changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and will determine whether telecommunications companies should be held liable for their role in President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program. The New York Times ran a story today that elaborated on the administration and National Security Agency’s domestic spying partnerships with certain phone companies. The following is a statement from Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

Bush Administration Rebukes Congress and Courts, Stymieing Investigations of Destroyed CIA Videotapes (12/15/2007)
NEW YORK -- In a stunning rebuke of the constitutional system of checks and balances, the Justice Department — in a single 24-hour period — has warned a federal judge to back-off of his inquiry into the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes, has told Congress to delay its own investigation into the matter, and has refused to cooperate with congressional inquiries into its own role in the elimination of the videotaped evidence.

ACLU Opposes Government’s Attempt to Throw Out Rendition Case Under Guise of "State Secrets" (12/14/2007)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed legal papers opposing the CIA’s attempt to throw out a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. for its participation in the CIA’s "extraordinary rendition" program. The ACLU charged that the U.S. government is improperly invoking the "state secrets" privilege to avoid judicial scrutiny of this unlawful policy.

ACLU Outlines Reasons Why Independent Prosecutor Is Necessary (12/13/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today sent a detailed 12-page letter to all members of Congress urging them to demand that Attorney General Mukasey appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate and prosecute any violations of federal criminal laws related to the interrogation of detainees, including any obstruction of justice.

ACLU Urges Congress Not to Repeat History With FISA (12/13/2007)
Washington, DC – Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, and Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, were scheduled to hold a closed congressional briefing today with legislation aimed at amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The Senate is expected to vote in the coming days on FISA legislation largely shaped by the White House and passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The bill includes a provision that would give immunity to telecommunications companies who aided in the administration’s domestic spying. Also today, a bill introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) that would substitute the government as the plaintiff in cases currently pending against the telecoms was voted down in a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Specter Substitution is Immunity by Another Name (12/13/2007)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject a bill offered by ranking member Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). Senator Specter’s bill, the FISA Intelligence Surveillance Substitution Act of 2007, would remove the telecommunications companies and insert the federal government as the defendant in cases currently pending over domestic spying. The bill is scheduled to be marked up by the full Senate Judiciary Committee today.

Citing Destruction of Torture Tapes, ACLU Asks Court to Hold CIA in Contempt (12/12/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion asking a federal judge to hold the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in contempt, charging that the agency flouted a court order when it destroyed at least two videotapes documenting the harsh interrogation of prisoners in its custody. In response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by the ACLU and other organizations in October 2003 and May 2004, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered the CIA to produce or identify all records pertaining to the treatment of detainees in its custody. Despite the court’s ruling, the CIA never produced the tapes or even acknowledged their existence. Last week, in anticipation of media reports concerning the tapes, CIA Director Michael Hayden publicly acknowledged that the CIA had made the tapes in 2002 but destroyed them in 2005.

ACLU Asks Majority Leader Reid to Allow the Senate to Vote for Fourth Amendment Protections, Cheers Senators Who Take a Stand Against Immunity (12/12/2007)
Washington, DC -- The American Civil Liberties Union is calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow the Senate to vote for the Judiciary Committee’s FISA bill without letting the Bells off the hook.

FISA Court Denies Public Access to Records Concerning Wiretapping (12/11/2007)
NEW YORK - The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) announced today that it will not make public orders and legal papers pertaining to the scope of the government's authority to engage in the secret wiretapping of Americans.

Court Rules “Material Support” Provision of Patriot Act Unconstitutional (12/11/2007)
NEW YORK - In yet another ruling striking down a provision of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Monday that some portions of the act that criminalize support of blacklisted foreign organizations are unconstitutionally vague. Yesterday's ruling in the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholds a 2005 decision by U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins.

ACLU Calls for the Restoration of Habeas Corpus and Closure of Guantánamo Bay (12/10/2007)
WASHINGTON -- As the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security subcommittee held a hearing on the legal rights of the detainees at Guantánamo Bay, the American Civil Liberties Union renewed its call for the immediate restoration of habeas corpus due process rights and the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility. The Military Commissions Act, passed by Congress right before the 2006 elections, eliminated the right to challenge one's detention in court for detainees being held at Guantánamo Bay.

ACLU Calls for Independent Prosecutor to Investigate Destruction of CIA Interrogation Tapes (12/07/2007)
Washington, DC – With the news yesterday that the Central Intelligence Agency destroyed at least two videotapes documenting the brutal interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on Attorney General Mukasey to appoint an independent counsel to investigate, and if appropriate, prosecute any potential criminal activity. One of the tapes, made in 2002, purportedly shows the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, who U.S. officials have acknowledged was subjected to waterboarding. The CIA destroyed the tapes in November 2005.

ACLU Slams Department of Justice Spy Opinions (12/07/2007)
Washington, DC – Today, following revelations by Senate Intelligence Committee member Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on secret legal opinions regarding the administration's domestic spying program, the American Civil Liberties Union called on Congress to reject excessive surveillance powers for the administration. The opinions, from the Office of Legal Counsel, were written by the request of the administration as it was searching for new law enforcement and intelligence techniques. The Senate is currently weighing its options with legislation aimed at amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - the very law President Bush circumvented with his warrantless wiretapping program. In August, the ACLU filed a motion requesting that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) make public the very rulings that Senator Whitehouse spoke of. In an unprecedented order, the FISC required the U.S. government to respond to the request and a decision from the court is pending.

ACLU Responds to CIA's Destruction of Harsh Interrogation Tapes (12/06/2007)
NEW YORK – The New York Times reported today that in 2005, the CIA destroyed at least two videotapes showing its operatives subjecting terror suspects to harsh interrogation practices in 2002. Officials said the CIA destroyed these tapes to protect agency operatives from legal consequences. The destruction of these tapes appears to be part of an extensive, long-term pattern of misusing executive authority to insulate individuals from criminal prosecution for torture and abuse, the American Civil Liberties Union said.