ACLU Welcomes Roberts' New Call For Oversight on Illegal NSA Program to Spy on Americans, Says Congress Still Needs to Fully and Openly Investigate Before Any Changes (2/18/2006)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
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WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union
today welcomed an announcement from Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts
(R-KS) that he now believes that the president's domestic spying program must be
subject to an independent judicial check. His announcement comes on the
heels of a public backlash against word of an attempted backroom deal between
Roberts and the White House to exempt the illegal spying by the National
Security Agency from the federal statute that requires judicial review.
That law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), was passed to
protect Americans' fundamental Fourth Amendment right to privacy. Senator
Roberts has now indicated that he thinks the surveillance must be placed under
the review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Congress must
ensure that any proposals to amend FISA protect Americans' rights under the
Fourth Amendment and continue to provide a role for thorough legislative
oversight.
On Thursday, in a case joined by the ACLU, a
federal court issued an order directing the Justice Department to turn over
documents on the NSA's illegal eavesdropping surveillance program or to provide
a list of specific documents it is withholding. This Monday, the ACLU will
host a national town hall on the warrantless domestic spying program.
The following can be attributed to Caroline
Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:
"We applaud Chairman Roberts for finally
recognizing that this warrantless eavesdropping program cannot stand. It
is clear that a growing number of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle reject
President Bush's claim of unchecked authority to spy on Americans without a
warrant. But even though we welcome this development, any legislative
proposals must not be allowed to short-circuit an inquiry into the warrantless
wiretapping of Americans -- Congress cannot fix the problems with the illegal
operation until it knows exactly what has happened. A full, open and
independent investigation is still needed. The rule of law, which was
clearly broken, must be restored."
For more on the ACLU’s concerns
with the warrantless NSA spying program, go to:
http://www.aclu.org/nsaspying
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