warrantless wiretapping

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Rehabilitation of Bush Legacy Well Under Way
Rehabilitation
of Bush Legacy Well Under Way
OPINION
Jan 16, 2009 10:08 AM CST

Rehabilitation of Bush Legacy Well Under Way

Need proof? See Obama's early moves, writes Krauthammer

(Newser) - Nixon aside, no president since Truman has left office as unpopular as George W. Bush, writes Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer. But while it took decades for Truman's reputation to be restored, "Bush's rehabilitation will come sooner—in fact, it has already begun." The proof? Barack Obama...

Wiretap Whistleblower Reflects on Fateful Leak

Fmr. Justice official wrestles with effects of NYT call

(Newser) - The government lawyer who blew the whistle on the Bush administration’s domestic wiretapping program has wrestled with the consequences of his decision, but he felt obligated to tell the truth, Newsweek reports. “I thought this (secret program) was something the other branches of the government—and the public—...

Make Your Case on Anti-Terror, Mr. Bush

Bill Kristol thinks America will listen

(Newser) - Republicans have fallen out of favor, and there’s probably nothing George W. Bush can say in his final days to change that. “But he could do his party—and the nation—a service by reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror,” writes William Kristol....

Justice Dept. Math: Subtract Politics, Add Confidence

Obama needs to tread careful bipartisan line in cleaning up after Bush

(Newser) - Repairing a Justice Department heavily politicized by the Bush administration’s ideologically motivated hiring practices and controversial counterterrorism measures will be one of Barack Obama’s most daunting challenges, Carrie Johnson writes in the Washington Post. One key area is the secretive Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the government...

Obama Likely to Keep Bush Intel Policies

Positions likely to be filled with pragmatists

(Newser) - Barack Obama isn’t likely to deliver the radical intelligence policy overhaul many civil liberty groups are craving, advisers tell the Wall Street Journal. Those advisers include former Republican supporters and centrist Clinton officials. “He’s going to take a very centrist approach,” said an ex-Bush and Clinton...

Judge Demands White House Turn Over Wiretap Memos

He'll determine if their public release would jeopardize national security

(Newser) - A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to turn over legal memos related to the government's policy allowing warrantless wiretapping, reports the Los Angeles Times. The memos must be turned over by Nov. 17 for review by US District Judge Henry Kennedy, who will determine if releasing them would...

Obama Playing With Fire Over FISA 'Sell-Out'
Obama Playing With Fire
Over FISA 'Sell-Out'
opinion
Jul 9, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

Obama Playing With Fire Over FISA 'Sell-Out'

He better not take his base for granted, writes Joan Walsh

(Newser) - Barack Obama was never the great reformer his supporters made him out to be, but his decision to give telecom companies immunity for spying on Americans is nevertheless "unforgivable," writes Joan Walsh in Salon. She's tired of the "political cave-ins" and says Obama better not to take...

Senate passes FISA, 69-28
 Senate passes FISA, 69-28 
Jul 9, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Senate passes FISA, 69-28

Amendments fail

(Newser) - The Senate approved a bill today overhauling the rules on secret US government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telephone companies that helped it listen in after 9/11. The so-called FISA bill passed by a large margin of 69-28. The upper house also voted against three amendments that would have watered...

As Congress Caves on FISA, Coalition Urges Fighting Back

'Limitless erosion of core constitutional liberties' abhorrent, Greenwald writes

(Newser) - With a vote set for tomorrow on a new domestic surveillance bill that grants immunity to telecoms involved in warrantless wiretapping of US citizens, Glenn Greenwald urges Salon readers to donate to a "coalition devoted to the preservation of basic constitutional protections and the rule of law." The...

Supporters Blast Obama on His Own Website

Barackobama.com flooded with protests over FISA flip-flop

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s abrupt about-face on new FISA legislation that would grant immunity to telcos that aided the Bush administration in warrantless wiretaps has some supporters hopping mad—and they’re using the forums on the candidate's own website to protest, the New York Times reports. During the primaries Obama...

House Passes Compromise FISA Bill
House Passes Compromise FISA Bill
Jun 20, 2008 3:45 PM CDT

House Passes Compromise FISA Bill

Most Democrats oppose immunity for telecom companies

(Newser) - The House today approved a bill updating FISA law and granting qualified immunity to telecom companies that aided the Bush administration in warrantless wiretapping. A majority of Democrats opposed the bill, which passed 293-129. Nancy Pelosi supported the measure despite serious reservations because it refutes the administration's argument about "...

Telecoms Gain Immunity From Wiretap Suits
Telecoms Gain Immunity From Wiretap Suits
ANALYSIS
Jun 20, 2008 8:42 AM CDT

Telecoms Gain Immunity From Wiretap Suits

'It’s not compromise; it’s pure theater,' says one plaintiff.

(Newser) - Yesterday's Congressional deal on warrantless wiretapping will wipe out some 40 pending lawsuits against phone companies that took part in the Bush administration's eavesdropping scheme, ending 5 months of Democratic resistance to giving the telcos immunity for their actions. In what the New York Times calls to the biggest change...

Surveillance Law Gives Sweden Broad Powers

No warrant needed for cross-border phone, e-traffic; foes outraged

(Newser) - Sweden's intelligence service will have broad new powers to intercept cross-border calls and emails, without a warrant, under a law passed yesterday, the BBC reports. Critics, meanwhile, say it is impossible to fully distinguish domestic from international traffic without compromising the transmissions. Protesters handed out copies of George Orwell's 1984...

'Sweeping' House Deal Would Expand Spy Powers

Long-awaited compromise would offer telecoms immunity

(Newser) - House leaders brokered a long-awaited compromise on spy powers today, bringing much of the post-9/11 NSA activities—illegal at the time—under law and granting a qualified immunity to telecom companies that participated in the extra-FISA program, the Wall Street Journal reports. The “most sweeping rewrite” of spy law...

McCain Backs Bush Wiretaps: Adviser

Says candidate believes president has right to 'override' law

(Newser) - John McCain supports President Bush's warrantless wiretapping program, a top adviser writes in a letter posted on the National Review website. The adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, outlines McCain's belief that the Constitution authorizes the president to override a federal statute that requires court oversight for surveillance. The position marks a sharp...

Government's Spy Powers Up, But Terror Arrests Down

Civil-liberty groups squawk; feds say numbers don't tell whole story

(Newser) - Big Brother is watching … but hasn’t found much, the Los Angeles Times reports. Despite vastly increased domestic spying activities, terrorism prosecutions have plummeted 50% since 2002; last year alone saw a 19% drop, despite a 9% increase in eavesdropping warrants. The Bush administration, meanwhile, is pushing for even...

Congress Prods Justice Dept. on Secrecy

Dems accuse Mukasey, underlings of stalling on requests

(Newser) - Congress is redoubling its efforts to get info from the Justice Department, the Washington Post reports. Requests for classified documents have languished for as long as 3 years, and the contretemps between Congress and Alberto Gonzales over their disclosure has improved little under the new AG, Michael Mukasey. "We...

Bush Threw Out 4th Amendment After 9/11

Newly revealed Yoo memo voided search and seizure protections

(Newser) - Just a month after Sept. 11, 2001, the Justice Department concluded that anti-terror military operations on US soil were not constrained by the Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure. The conclusion was detailed in a memo written by John Yoo, the theorist behind many of President Bush's expansions of...

AG's 'Invented' 9/11 Claim Is Scare Tactic
AG's 'Invented' 9/11 Claim Is Scare Tactic
OPINION
Apr 3, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

AG's 'Invented' 9/11 Claim Is Scare Tactic

Salon scribe blasts Mukasey claim that law blocked key eavesdrop

(Newser) - Michael Mukasey’s recent claim that surveillance laws barred eavesdropping on a crucial pre-9/11 phone call is either an attempt to scare up support for spying or a revelation of massive US failure, Glenn Greenwald writes in Salon. The 9/11 Commission never mentioned the mysterious phone call—and the executive...

Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal
Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal
Mar 21, 2008 8:18 PM CDT

Mukasey Open to Spy Bill Deal

AG calls for 'creative' solution to debate on phone company lawsuits

(Newser) - The nation's top lawman welcomed a deal today on a stalled federal spy bill, Reuters reports. “If somebody has some brilliantly creative compromise, I'm happy to hear that,” Attorney General Michael Mukasey said. A recent House bill would allow lawsuits against phone companies that gave records to Washington,...

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