ACLU and CCR sue NSA

[bascule]

Also, Slate has a story on Russ Tice, the NSA whistleblower who's likely to be the star witness in the case.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4622232.stm

 

Two civil liberties groups in the US have taken legal action to block President George W Bush's domestic spying programme.

 

The groups want an immediate halt to the "illegal and unconstitutional" eavesdropping on US citizens.

 

The federal lawsuits were filed in New York and Detroit by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

 

The president has defended the policy as critical to the war against terror.

 

Mr Bush signed a secret presidential order following the 11 September 2001 attacks, allowing the National Security Agency (NSA) to track the international telephone calls and e-mails of hundreds of people without referral to the courts.

 

Previously, surveillance on US soil was generally limited to foreign embassies.

 

Spying row

 

The ACLU and CCR are seeking an injunction preventing the government carrying out electronic surveillance in the US without warrants.

 

Mr Bush and the head of the NSA, Keith Alexander, are named in the legal actions.

 

The head of ACLU, Anthony Romero, described the current monitoring of US citizens as "a chilling assertion of presidential power".

 

CCR legal director Bill Goodman said: "This illegal activity is cloaked in the guise of national security.

 

"In reality, it reflects an attempt by the Bush administration to exercise unchecked power without the inconvenient interference of the other co-equal branches of the government."

 

Other plaintiffs include Greenpeace, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and UK journalist Christopher Hitchens.

 

The New York Times, which leaked information about the spying policy last month, reported on Tuesday that much of the domestic spying was unproductive and led federal agents to dead ends or innocent US citizens.

[Pangloss]

One of the more notable plaintiffs in this case is James Bamford, author of two definitive and interesting books on the subject of the National Security Agency. Bamford is also a staunch critic of the Bush administration.

[Jim]

Also' date=' Slate has a story on Russ Tice, the NSA whistleblower who's likely to be the star witness in the case.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4622232.stm

 

I'm a little surprised it took them this long to file. It will be an interesting case to follow.

[bascule]

In other news, a new Zogby poll (you know, the guy who called the 2004 presidential race for Kerry? Whoops) comissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org (take that for what you will) shows the majority of Americans would support impeaching Bush for the domestic spying program:

 

http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=12528

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — By a margin of 52 to 43 percent, citizens want Congress to impeach President Bush if he wiretapped American citizens without a judge's approval, according to a new poll commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, a grassroots coalition that supports a Congressional investigation of Pres. Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

 

The poll was conducted by Zogby International.

 

The poll found that 52 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: "If President Bush wiretapped American citizens without the approval of a judge, do you agree or disagree that Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."

 

Of those contacted, 43 percent disagreed, and 6 percent said they didn't know or declined to answer. The poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percent.

 

"The American people are not buying Bush's outrageous claim that he has the power to wiretap American citizens without a warrant. Americans believe terrorism can be fought without turning our own government into Big Brother," said AfterDowningStreet.org co-founder Bob Fertik in a statement.

 

Responses to the Zogby poll varied by political party affiliation: 76 percent of Democrats favored impeachment, compared to 50 percent of independents and 29 percent of Republicans.

 

Responses also varied by age, sex, race, and religion. 70 percent of those 18-29 favored impeachment, 51 percent of those 31-49, 50 percent of those 50-64, and 42 percent of those older than 65. Among women, 56 percent favored impeachment, compared to 49 percent of men. Among African Americans, 90 percent favored impeachment, compared to 67 percent of Hispanics, and 46 percent of whites.

 

The new Zogby poll shows a major shift in support for Bush's impeachment since June 2005. In a Zogby poll conducted June 27-29, 2005 of 905 likely voters, 42 percent agreed and 50 percent disagreed with the identical statement asked about in this recent polling.

[Jim]

In other news' date=' a new Zogby poll (you know, the guy who called the 2004 presidential race for Kerry? Whoops) comissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org (take that for what you will) shows the majority of Americans would support impeaching Bush for the domestic spying program:

 

http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=12528[/quote']

 

 

The question is flawed. First, we aren't necessarily talking about just American citizens. Second, the question doesn't indicate that the taps were limted to individuals suspected of communicating with terrorists oversees. Third, by asking about impeachment the quesiton practically presupposes that the action was unlawful. Fourth, a fair question would present alternatives to the impeachment remedy.

 

More apt questions would be:

 

1. Do you agree with President Bush's decision to monitor electronic communications by suspected terrorists into the United States without a Court order?

 

2. Do you agree with President Bush's claim that he was authorized to monitor such communications as part of his inherent power under the Constitution as commander-in-chief in a time of war?

 

3. If Presdient Bush's actions were not authorized by law, what should be done by Congress:

 

A. Impeachment;

B. Public censure by resolution;

C. Nothing - the judicial and political process should be left to resolve the issue.

 

I'm highly skeptical about this poll. I had thought that despite the lockstep presentation in the mainstream media on this issue, the public was pretty much in favor of the program.

[swansont]

3. If Presdient Bush's actions were not authorized by law' date=' what should be done by Congress:

 

A. Impeachment;

B. Public censure by resolution;

C. Nothing - the judicial and political process should be left to resolve the issue.

 

I'm highly skeptical about this poll. I had thought that despite the lockstep presentation in the mainstream media on this issue, the public was pretty much in favor of the program.[/quote']

 

How is A) not part of the judicial and political process? For that matter, how is B) not part of the political process?

 

What makes you think that the public was pretty much in favor of the program, a different poll? If so, why weren't you skeptical about that one? (Personally, I'm skeptical about all polls. You can word a question differently to get a different response. That and the oft-misused citation about a poll's accuracy)

[Jim]

How is A) not part of the judicial and political process? For that matter' date=' how is B) not part of the political process?

 

What makes you think that the public was pretty much in favor of the program, a different poll? If so, why weren't you skeptical about that one? (Personally, I'm skeptical about all polls. You can word a question differently to get a different response. That and the oft-misused citation about a poll's accuracy)[/quote']

 

Right, it would be better worded to say:

 

C: None of the above.