Suit Seeks Court Order To Declare FISA Law Unconstitutional
Americans should be very concerned about the new FISA bill. A majority of members of the Senate and House of Representatives care nothing about the Constitution and decided to ignore their constitutional oath and tear apart the Fourth Amendments, in addition to kowtowing to telecom contributers by protecting them from accountability for breaking the law.
But there are organizations and individuals who believe in the Constitution and the protection of that living document that have banded together to challenge this anti-constitutional FISA bill.
As reported by IPS News: "The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a coalition of other groups declared that the new law 'gives the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls.'
"The ACLU coalition's legal challenge, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks a court order declaring that the new law is unconstitutional and ordering its immediate and permanent halt.
"The ACLU coalition's legal challenge, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks a court order declaring that the new law is unconstitutional and ordering its immediate and permanent halt.
"Plaintiffs in the suit include The Nation magazine and two of its contributing journalists, Naomi Klein and Chris Hedges; Amnesty International USA; Global Rights; Global Fund for Women; Human Rights Watch; PEN American Centre; Service Employees International Union; the Washington Office on Latin America; the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association; and several individual defence attorneys and journalists.
"In its legal challenge, the coalition argues that 'The new spying law violates Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution. The new law permits the government to conduct intrusive surveillance without ever telling a court who it intends to spy on, what phone lines and email addresses it intends to monitor, where its surveillance targets are located, why it's conducting the surveillance or whether it suspects any party to the communication of wrongdoing.'
"In its legal challenge, the coalition argues that 'The new spying law violates Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution. The new law permits the government to conduct intrusive surveillance without ever telling a court who it intends to spy on, what phone lines and email addresses it intends to monitor, where its surveillance targets are located, why it's conducting the surveillance or whether it suspects any party to the communication of wrongdoing.'
"ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero charged that the new law 'not only legalises the secret warrantless surveillance programme the president approved in late 2001, it gives the government new spying powers, including the power to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans' international communications.'
"He added, 'Spying on Americans without warrants or judicial approval is an abuse of government power -- and that's exactly what this law allows. The ACLU will not sit by and let this evisceration of the Fourth Amendment go unchallenged.'
"The wiretapping issue became the centre of a storm of criticism after the New York Times revealed that, following the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, President Bush had secretly authorised the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and others inside the country to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.
"Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the U.S. without warrants in an effort to track possible 'dirty numbers' linked to al Qaeda, the officials said.
"He added, 'Spying on Americans without warrants or judicial approval is an abuse of government power -- and that's exactly what this law allows. The ACLU will not sit by and let this evisceration of the Fourth Amendment go unchallenged.'
"The wiretapping issue became the centre of a storm of criticism after the New York Times revealed that, following the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, President Bush had secretly authorised the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and others inside the country to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials.
"Under a presidential order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the U.S. without warrants in an effort to track possible 'dirty numbers' linked to al Qaeda, the officials said.
"Nation magazine writer Naomi Klein said that 'As a journalist, my job requires communication with people in all parts of the world -- from Iraq to Argentina. If the U.S. government is given unchecked surveillance power to monitor reporters' confidential sources, my ability to do this work will be seriously compromised.'
"She added, 'I cannot in good conscience accept that my conversations with people who live outside the U.S. will put them in harm's way as a result of overzealous government spying. Privacy in my communications is not simply an expectation, it's a right.' Human Rights Watch programme director Iain Levine said the new legislation 'will allow mass government interception of electronic communications, so long as the target is overseas, without meaningful judicial oversight or warrant identifying who or what is to be subject to surveillance.'
"She added, 'I cannot in good conscience accept that my conversations with people who live outside the U.S. will put them in harm's way as a result of overzealous government spying. Privacy in my communications is not simply an expectation, it's a right.' Human Rights Watch programme director Iain Levine said the new legislation 'will allow mass government interception of electronic communications, so long as the target is overseas, without meaningful judicial oversight or warrant identifying who or what is to be subject to surveillance.'
" 'In the course of our work reporting on and defending human rights, we regularly need to be in contact with activists and human rights victims all over the world,' he said. 'Knowing that the U.S. government could be monitoring our calls and emails often inhibits our efforts, and causes us to take expensive and delaying measures to keep our communications secure.'
"Kevin Bankston, an EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) attorney, told IPS, 'Although Internet users reasonably expect that their online reading habits are private, the department of Justice will not confirm whether it collects or believes itself authorised to collect URLs using pen-trap devices.'
"Pen-traps collect information about the numbers dialed on a telephone but do not record the actual content of phone conversations. Because of this limitation, court orders authorising pen-trap surveillance are easy to get; instead of having to show probable cause, the government need only certify relevance to its investigation. The government is not required to inform people that they are or were the subjects of pen-trap surveillance."
"Pen-traps collect information about the numbers dialed on a telephone but do not record the actual content of phone conversations. Because of this limitation, court orders authorising pen-trap surveillance are easy to get; instead of having to show probable cause, the government need only certify relevance to its investigation. The government is not required to inform people that they are or were the subjects of pen-trap surveillance."
Just because there are many stupid, but arrogant elected representatives and senators who try to eviscerate the Constitution and some are nothing but telecom lobbyists' whores, doesn't mean the American people will not hold them accountable for their terrible votes for this unconstitutional FISA bill.
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