Warrantless Wiretapping

Cheney Wants Surveillance Law Expanded

AP | TOM RAUM | Posted 01.23.2008 | Politics

Read More: Vice President Dick Cheney, Dick Cheney Surveillance, Surveillance Law, Wiretapping, War on Terror, Warrantless Wiretapping, Wiretapping Surveillance Dick Cheney, Politics News

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney prodded Congress on Wednesday to extend and broaden an expiring surveillance law, saying "fighting the w...

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Just Say "No" to Immunity

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 01.23.2008 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Surveillance, Cia, Wiretapping, Politics News
Jayne Lyn Stahl

Only a bunch of hardcore mobsters would demand immunity before they testify. Is this what public service has become, just another euphemism for organized crime?

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"American Taliban" Whistleblower Joins Furor Over CIA Tapes

William Fisher | Posted 12.24.2007 | Politics

Read More: Jesselyn Radack, Warrantless Wiretapping, Marjorie Cohn, John Conyers, New York Times Torture, National Lawyers Guild, Bruce Fein, Missing CIA Torture Tapes, Patrick Leahy, American Freedom Campaign, Michael Mukasey, Abu Zubaydah, John Walker Lindh, Guantanamo, Habeas Corpus, Bush Administration Torture, Jonathan Turley, American Lawyers Defending the Constitution, Harriet Miers, Center for Constitutional Rights, Michael Hayden, Michael Ratner, Tapegate, Alberto Gonzales, Mario Cuomo, Politics News
William Fisher

The destruction of the CIA tapes has raised questions about whether CIA officials withheld information from Congress, the courts and the Sept. 11 commission about aspects of the program.

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Reid Considers Extending Protect America Act For One Month

The Hill | Manu Raju | Posted 12.19.2007 | Politics

Read More: Telecoms Immunity, Warrantless Wiretapping, Senator Harry Reid, FISA Bill, FISA Legislation, Warrantless Surveillance, Wiretapping, Dianne Feinstein, Retroactive Immunity, Harry Reid, Warrantless Spying, Chris Dodd, Fisa, Protect America Act, Telecoms, Telecom Immunity, Dodd Filibuster, Dodd Telecom Amnesty, Politics News

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Tuesday he would seek to extend a controversial interim wiretapping law through February to avoid the ea...

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Open Minds

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 12.18.2007 | Politics

Read More: Telecoms Immunity, Warrantless Wiretapping, Warantless Surveillance, Dianne Feinstein, Spying, Fisa, Telecoms, Liability Relief, Domestic Spying, Politics News
Jayne Lyn Stahl

How can any legislative branch make laws then grant immunity from breaking laws on the grounds of national security? After all, what is "national security" if not law enforcement?

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Bush Administration Going To Court Over CIA Tapes

AP | MATT APUZZO | Posted 12.18.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Jose Rodriguez, CIA Interrogation Tapes, Torture, Guantanamo Bay, Missing CIA Torture Tapes, Guantanamo Torture, Guantanamo Detainees, Bush Administration Torture, Breaking Politics News, CIA Terror Interrogation Tapes Destroyed, CIA Torture, Cia, CIA Tapes and Court, Politics News

A federal judge has ordered a hearing on whether the Bush administration violated a court order by destroying CIA interrogation videos of two al-Qaida...

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Senate Showdown Over Warrantless Wiretapping

AP | PAMELA HESS | Posted 12.17.2007 | Politics

Read More: Wiretapping, Fisa, Warrantless Wiretapping, FISA Filibuster, Dodd Filibuster, Filibuster, Politics News

The Senate is expected to decide this week whether to shield from civil lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on ...

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More on the Telecomm Amnesty Bill

Craig Newmark | Posted 12.16.2007 | Media

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Telecoms, Media News
Craig Newmark

We do need to help those in the intelligence community that are honest and competent, not the ones ordered to produce fake reports.

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Friday Talking Points [Vol. 12]

Chris Weigant | Posted 12.14.2007 | Politics

Read More: White House, Gwen Ifill, Pat Leahy, Fisa, Rumsfeld, Telecom, Witch Hunt, Fatuous, John Kerry, Midotw, Contempt of Congress, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Reid, News Hour, Special Counsel, Witch, Warrantless Wiretapping, Oversight, Democrat, Edwards, Congress, Joe Biden, Richardson, Justice Department, Democrats, Investigation, Mddotw, Interrogation Tapes, Wiretapping, Alberto Gonzales, Nixon, Up or Down Vote, Wiccan, Cocaine, Stuart Bowen, Cloture, Cia, Cheney, Filibuster, Iraq, Chris Dodd, Obama, Privacy, Bush, Pelosi, 10-Year War, Continuing Resolution, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Scooter Libby, Hex, Inspector General, Judiciary Committee, Specter, Attorney General, Contempt, Robert Wexler, CIA Tapes, Roadblock Republicans, Executive Branch, Independent Counsel, Wicca, Telecommunication, Torture, King George, Grassley, Politics News
Chris Weigant

The whole Obama flap over cocaine (fueled by the Clinton camp) needs to get shot down right away, before any Republicans consider using it to attack Obama. And it's so pathetically easy to shoot this one down.

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Mukasey Won't Give Congress CIA Tape Details

Washington Post | Dan Eggen | Posted 12.14.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Jose Rodriguez, CIA Interrogation Tapes, Torture, Guantanamo Bay, Mukasey Refuses to Give Congress Cia Tapes, Missing CIA Torture Tapes, Guantanamo Torture, Guantanamo Detainees, Bush Administration Torture, Breaking Politics News, CIA Terror Interrogation Tapes Destroyed, CIA Torture, Cia, Mukasey and CIA Tapes, Cia Tapes and Department of Justice, Politics News

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey today sharply rebuffed congressional demands for details about the Justice Department's inquiry into the destructi...

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CIA Official Who Ordered Tapes Destroyed Lawyers Up

TPMmuckraker | Spencer Ackerman | Posted 12.14.2007 | Politics

Read More: CIA Terror Interrogation Tapes Destroyed, Jose Rodriguez, Warrantless Wiretapping, Bush Administration Torture, CIA Interrogation Tapes, Missing CIA Torture Tapes, Cia, Guantanamo Detainees, Guantanamo Bay, Guantanamo Torture, CIA Torture, Torture, Politics News

Blink and you'll miss it in today's New York Times piece on the House's torture ban. But Jose Rodriguez, the CIA's ex-operations director who ordered ...

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The First, True Vice President

Robert J. Elisberg | Posted 12.11.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Vice President, Ronald Reagan, Valerie Plame Wilson, Warrantless Surveillance, Guantanamo Detainees, Guantanamo, Valerie Plame, Dick Cheney, Vice President Iran, National Intelligence Estimate, Iran National Intelligence Estimate Nuclear Weapons Program, Gerald Ford, Dick Cheney Iran, Nie Iran Report, Vice President Cheney, Politics News
Robert J. Elisberg

If you're going to be a true vice president, after all, you ought to have some vice to show for it.

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This is the Time For Lawyers to Speak

Naomi Wolf | Posted 12.10.2007 | Politics

Read More: Miers Bolten Contempt, Alliance for Justice, Warrantless Wiretapping, Bush Unconstitutional, John Conyers, Karl Rove, National Lawyers Guild, Patrick Leahy, American Freedom Campaign, Rendition, Josh Bolten, American Lawyers Defending the Constitution, Center for Constitutional Rights, Harriet Miers, Congressional Oversight, Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Suspended Constitution, Mario Cuomo, Politics News
Naomi Wolf

The need for leadership from lawyers in this country has never been greater. From wiretapping to torture to extraordinary rendition, the Bush administration has ignored and disrespected our Constitution and our laws.

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Charity Begins...Where?

William Fisher | Posted 11.19.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Monica Goodling, Gonzales Texas Supreme Court, Firing Attorneys, Alberto R. Gonzales Legal Expense Trust, Texas Supreme Court, Ford Motor Co, Habeas Corpus, Justice Inspector General, Expansion of Executive Power, Gonzales Firing Nine Attorneys, Alberto Gonzales Lawyer, Department of Justice, Alberto Gonzales Investigation, Nsa, George J. Terwilliger III, David Leitch, Alberto Gonzales, Executive Power, Scooter Libby, Terrorist Surveillance Program, Torture, White & Case, Gonzales Bush, Politics News
William Fisher

Checkbooks at the ready? After all, don't we all owe poor Al Gonzales our support in his time of need?

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Update: Senate Panel Approves Wiretap Bill Without Telecom Immunity

AP | PAMELA HESS | Posted 11.15.2007 | Politics

Read More: Congress Warrantless Wiretapping, Warrantless Wiretapping, Domestic Wiretapping, Congress Surveillance, Domest Warantless Wiretapping, Congress Terrorist Surveillance, Politics News

The Senate Judiciary Committee punted on Thursday over whether to shield telecommunications companies from civil lawsuits for allegedly helping the go...

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Congress Set to Legitimize Warrantless Wiretapping

Caroline Fredrickson | Posted 11.13.2007 | Politics

Read More: Nsa, Warrantless Wiretapping, FISA Bill, FISA Legislation, Wiretapping, 4th Amendment, Fisa, Protect America Act, Fisa Law, Cogress Wiretapping, Politics News
Caroline Fredrickson

Customers who've had their rights violated should get their day in court. We'll never learn the facts about the warrantless wiretapping program if the telecoms are let off the hook.

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Justice Department Reopens Warrantless Domestic Spying Investigation

AP | DEVLIN BARRETT | Posted 11.13.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Department of Justice, Domestic Spying Investigation, Justice Department, Politics News

The Justice Department has reopened a long-dormant inquiry into the government's warrantless wiretapping program, a major policy shift only days into ...

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Will Democrats Restore Our Liberties Stolen in the Bush Era?

Ari Melber | Posted 11.13.2007 | Politics

Read More: Andrei Cherny, 2008, Platform, Alternet, Habeas Corpus, Nsa, Warrantless Wiretapping, Civil Liberties, Human Rights, Guantanamo, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Spying, Joe Biden, Fisa, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Politics News
Ari Melber

Here's an attempt to cover the presidential candidates' civil liberties landscape and propose a few ideas for constitutional activism within the ongoing Democratic debate.

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Dodd Fights Spying While Dems "Rage & Cave"

Ari Melber | Posted 10.22.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Surveillance, Filibuster, Dodd, Spying, Hold, Dodd Hold Surveillance Bill, Rageandcave, Dodd Telecom Amnesty, Politics News
Ari Melber

On the campaign trail, Democrats may run hard against Bush's assault on the rule of law. In Washington, however, too many of them just run from security fights with Bush.

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Why Do You Need Immunity, If You Haven't Broken the Law?

Cenk Uygur | Posted 10.13.2007 | Politics

Read More: Telecom Companies, Warrantless Wiretapping, Dick Durbin, Immunity, Fisa, Democrats, Qwest, Steny Hoyer, Joe Nacchio, Politics News
Cenk Uygur

Has enforcing US law become so quaint and obsolete that when someone pretty much admits they broke the law and asks in essence for a preemptive pardon, no one looks into it?

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Former CEO Says NSA Punished Phone Firm

Washington Post | Ellen Nakashima and Dan Eggen | Posted 10.12.2007 | Business

Read More: Wiretapping, Warrantless Wiretapping, National Security Agency, Nsa, Qwest, Domestic Surveillance, Joseph P. Nacchio, Business News

A former Qwest Communications International executive, appealing a conviction for insider trading, has alleged that the government withdrew a $100 mil...

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Bush: Give Telecom Firms Immunity For Wiretapping

Associated Press | JENNIFER LOVEN | Posted 10.10.2007 | Home

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, NSA Wiretapping, Wiretapping, Home News

President Bush said Wednesday that he will not sign a new eavesdropping bill if it does not grant retroactive immunity to U.S. telecommunications comp...

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I've Got A Secret...Government

Jane Hamsher | Posted 10.04.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Bush Administration Torture, Patrick Leahy, Torture Attorney General, Wiretapping, Torture, Politics News
Jane Hamsher

I guess we should have known that when the Bush Administration told us they disowned the 2002 torture memo in 2004, they really didn't mean it. And, in fact, they didn't.

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My Video Chat with John Conyers

Arianna Huffington | Posted 09.27.2007 | Politics

Read More: Warrantless Wiretapping, Fisa, John Conyers, Judiciary Committee, Mike McConnell, Miers Bolten Contempt, Josh Bolten, Conyers Video Chat, Video, Harriet Miers, Conyers Contempt, Habeas Corpus, Politics News
Arianna Huffington

2007-09-25-ahcon11.jpgJohn Conyers has become the point man on some of today's most contentious upcoming political battles -- so I thought he would be the perfect person to inaugurate our new Video Chat feature.

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An Anti-War March, Schenck v. United States, And Free Speech

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.17.2007 | Politics

Read More: Alien Act, Bill of Rights, Sedition Act, Mudslinging, Anti-War March, Free Speech, Warrantless Wiretapping, Guantanamo, Schenck v US, Media, 1800 Election, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Journalism, Election, Clear and Present Danger, Alien and Sedition Act, Anti-War, Fire in a Crowded Theater, Constitution, Yellow Journalism, Supreme Court, Constitution Day, 1800, First Amendment, Patriot Act, Sally Hemmings, Schenck v United States, Jefferson, Schenck, Politics News
Chris Weigant

When it comes to citizens celebrating their freedom of speech, peaceable assembly, and petitioning the government for redress of grievances in Washington, it always boils down to a numbers game. How many people attended?

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