warrantless surveillance

Opinion: Security chief denies domestic spying but evidence contradicts

National Security Agency chief General Keith Alexander denied in a House subcommittee hearing that his agency spied on Americans without a court order. That denial runs counter to statements by former NSA employees who worked on the agency’s domestic spying infrastructure says James Bamford in a commentary in Wired. From a commentary in Wired, March 21, 2012, by James Bamford. Full story  

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Senators charge public deceived by government on justification for domestic spying

Two Democratic senators on the Senate Intelligence Committee accused the Justice Department of misleading the public on legal justification of domestic spying under the Patriot Act. The DOJ denied that they provided any misleading information. The senators  are concerned about Section 215 of the Patriot Act that allows a secret national security court to enable the F.B.I. to obtain “any tangible things” in a national security investigation including  customer information like hotel or credit card

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2nd Circuit: Federal court allows challenge to warrantless surveillance

The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for a second time that a suit could proceed that challenged a Congressional law allowing the National Security Agency to electronically spy on citizens without a probable-cause warrant. The case may finally come to trial unless the Obama administration uses the state secrets privilege to kill the lawsuit. Federal judges have not often ruled against the government in those instances. -db From Wired, September 21, 2011, by

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Justice Department refuses to declassify opinion on legality of warrantless surveillance

The Justice Department has refused to declassify a 2001 opinion written by John C. Yoo on the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. Critics of the program want to obtain the entire 21-page opinion to make sure misguided legal opinions do not live on to guide government policy. -db From Secrecy News, August 26, 2011. by Steven Aftergood. Full story

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ACLU sues over access to surveillance documents

The American Civil Liberties filed suit in federal district court to obtain documents concerning the federal government’s surveillance of U.S. citizens using the electronic media to communicate with people overseas. -db FierceGovernment June 7 2010 By David Perera The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit June 3 in a New York federal district court to receive documents pertaining to the government’s implementation of a 2008 law that allows electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens’ communications with

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