domestic spying

The DOJ Pursues The "Real Criminal" in The NSA Spying Scandal

There are few viewpoints, if there are any, which trigger more fervent agreement across the political and media establishment than the view that George Bush, Dick Cheney and other top officials should not be criminally investigated, let alone prosecuted, for the various laws they have broken over the last eight years. Conversely, in the Beltway world, few things will render you "Unserious" as quickly and irrevocably as arguing that Bush officials should be held accountable under the rule of law for their multiple violations of criminal statutes.

Posted in domestic spying

Who Else Is Spying on Me?

On July 16, after returning to Baltimore from a status hearing in Superior Court of the District of Columbia, I received a call from the American Civil Liberties Union that the Maryland State Police [MSP] had infiltrated antiwar and death penalty meetings. I was also told my name was in a terrorist database.

Posted in domestic spying

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2008
2:31 PM

CONTACT: ACLU

Mandy Simon, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

Reporters’ Phone Records Tracked by CIA in May 2006

ACLU Slams Agency for Infringing on First and Fourth Amendment Rights

WASHINGTON - December 9 - ABC News revealed that its reporters' phone calls are being tracked by the CIA in an effort to reveal confidential sources. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union condemned the CIA's actions and called on Congress to increase oversight and accountability over the intelligence community.

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Posted in civil liberties, domestic spying, fisa, journalism

Bush Administration Faces New Challenges to Spying Powers

A federal judge who earlier rejected Bush administration claims that it was exempt from laws governing domestic surveillance was asked Tuesday to strike down an act of Congress that grants retroactive immunity for illegal wiretapping.

In a separate challenge of presidential power over national security affairs, lawyers for the now-defunct Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation asked the same judge in San Francisco to allow them to sue for illegal monitoring by the National Security Agency.

Posted in domestic spying, fisa

Maryland Police Play Spies--And Look Like Fools

For years, the Maryland State Police, eager to play anti-terrorist surveillance agents just like the big boys on TV, spied on suburban peace activists who may have been loud, but never posed the slightest threat to the nation or the state.

Posted in domestic spying

Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security

The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.

Posted in domestic military, domestic spying

You're Scaring Me, Obama: Let the Bush Years Die

To be honest, Obama, you lost me when you voted for the PATRIOT Act reauthorization in 2006. You lost me again when you voted for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) amendment in 2008. And you lost me every single time you voted for yet more war funding.

Don't even get me started on your vote for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout.

I cast a ballot for you in November, but I just can't share in this moment of collective euphoria over your election.

Posted in bailout, beyond obama, domestic spying, foreign policy, guantanamo, War/Empire

Police Spied on Activists Through '07

Documents released yesterday show that state police spying of nonviolent protest groups took place in 2007, more than a year after law enforcement officials said much-criticized surveillance of death-penalty activists had ended.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the spying to light this year, also determined that some political activists who appear never to have set foot in Maryland were included in databases that list them as potential terrorists.

Posted in Activism, domestic spying

Many Groups Spied Upon In Maryland Were Nonviolent

Maryland State Police labeled members of a Montgomery County environmental group as terrorists and extremists days after they held a nonviolent protest at an appearance by then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. at a Bethesda high school.

Posted in Activism, domestic spying

Early Test for Obama on Domestic Spying Views

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama will face a series of early decisions on domestic spying that will test his administration's views on presidential power and civil liberties.

Posted in domestic spying