FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@aclu.org
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union
today strongly rebuked analysis provided by the Justice Department that argues
that there is a legal basis for the warrantless domestic surveillance conducted
by the National Security Agency as authorized by President Bush.
House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are
scheduled to hold a forum on the issue tomorrow, where the ACLU’s Washington
Legislative Director Caroline Fredrickson will testify. On Tuesday of this
week, the ACLU filed a legal challenge to the NSA program on behalf of a group
of prominent journalists, nonprofits, terrorism experts and community advocates.
The ACLU has also called for the appointment of an independent special counsel
to investigate the matter and has requested, through the Freedom of Information
Act, information about the NSA's program of warrantless spying on
Americans.
The following can be attributed to Anthony D.
Romero, ACLU Executive Director:
“President Bush and Attorney General Gonzales
can manufacture all of the legal justifications they want, but the facts and
laws show that this warrantless surveillance violates the First and Fourth
Amendment and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
“Any opinion coming from the Justice Department
has to be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism, given Attorney General
Gonzales’ involvement in the warrantless spying as White House counsel.
The fox may now be guarding the henhouse, which is why we need an independent
special counsel.
“Congress must hold open, substantive hearings
to let the American public know how their privacy was invaded. The
president must not use a claim of preserving the nation as justification to
undermine the very principles that define our nation. Freedom, liberty and
privacy must be protected and preserved.”
For more on the ACLU’s concerns with the
warrantless NSA spying program, go to:
http://www.aclu.org/nsaspying
