E
P I C A l e r t
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Volume 13.01
January 12, 2006
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Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Washington, D.C.
http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.01.html
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Table of Contents
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[1] Gore to Speak
About Domestic Spy Program at Constitution Hall
[2] National
Security Agency Domestic Spying Revealed
[3] EPIC Obtains
Papers on Intelligence Misconduct, Files Suit for More
[4] EPIC Continues
Fight Against Sony Spyware
[5] Troubling
Provisions Tacked on to Violence Against Women Act
[6] News in Brief
[7] EPIC Bookstore:
[8] Upcoming
Conferences and Events
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[1] Gore to Speak About Domestic Spy Program at
Constitution Hall
Former Vice
President Al Gore will give a speech addressing the constitutional crisis
caused by the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program and its
implications for the rule of law, the separation of powers,
and Americans' constitutional rights at Constitution Hall, on Monday, January 16. The event is sponsored by The Liberty
Coalition and the American Constitution Society. Mr. Gore will be introduced by former U.S. Representative Bob Barr (R-GA), chairman of Patriots to Restore Checks
and Balances.
The former Vice
President's speech comes amid growing concern about the legal basis put forward
for President's Bush's domestic surveillance program. A December 22, 2005
letter from the Department of Justice to members of the House and Senate
Intelligence Committees offered a "brief summary of the legal authority
supporting the NSA activities described by the President." The letter
contends that the President has the authority to "order foreign
intelligence surveillance within the United States . . . ." The Justice
Department further said, "The President's constitutional authority to
direct the NSA to conduct the activities he described is supplemented by
statutory authority under the AUMF [Authorized Use of Military Force
resolution, passed by Congress, September 18, 2001]." And the Justice
Department stated that the "The President's authorization of targeted
electronic surveillance by the NSA is also consistent with the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act ('FISA')."
However, an
extensive analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service
questioned the Department of Justice assessment. The CRS report concluded that
the Congress expressly intended for the government to seek warrants from a
special Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before engaging in such
surveillance when it passed legislation creating the court in 1978. The report
also concluded that Bush's assertion that Congress authorized such
eavesdropping to detect and fight terrorists does not appear to be supported by the
special resolution that Congress approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which focused
on authorizing the president to use military force. "It appears unlikely
that a court would hold that Congress has expressly or impliedly authorized the
NSA electronic surveillance operations here," the authors of the CRS
report wrote. The administration's
legal justification "does not seem to be . . .well-grounded," the CRS report said.
A letter from legal
scholars and former government officials reached a similar conclusion. The
letter states:
“Although the
program's secrecy prevents us from being privy to all of its details, the Justice Department's defense of
what it concedes was secret
and warrantless electronic surveillance of persons within the United States fails to identify any
plausible legal authority
for such surveillance. Accordingly
the program appears on its face to violate existing law.”
Vice President
Gore's speech will begin at 12 noon PT on Monday, January 16 and will be broadcast live
by C Span 1.
Liberty Coalition http://libertycoalition.net/
American
Constitution Society http://www.acslaw.org/
Patriots to Restore
Checks and Balances http://www.checksbalances.org/
Registration for
Event (Liberty Coalition) http://www.libertyspeeches.org
Justice Department
Defense of Domestic Surveillance Program (pdf): http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/fisa/nsaletter122205.pdf
Congressional
Research Service Analysis of Domestic Surveillance Program (pdf): http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/fisa/crs_analysis.pdf
Legal Scholars'
Analysis of Domestic Surveillance Program (pdf) http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/fisa/dojreply.pdf
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