OK, so the government got caught breaking the law (perish the thought),
but what i want to know is what are criminal charges going to be filed
against those responsible?
It smells like a "Violation of Civil Right, Under the Color of
Authority" type of suit as well.
-jma
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/17/domesticspying.lawsuit/index.html
NSA eavesdropping program ruled unconstitutional
Justice Department says it will appeal judge's decision
(CNN) -- A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the U.S. government's
domestic eavesdropping program is unconstitutional and ordered it ended
immediately.
The Justice Department said it would appeal the ruling, saying the
program was "a critical tool that ensures we have in place an early
warning system to detect and prevent a terrorist attack."
In a 44-page memorandum and order, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor,
-- who is based in Detroit, Michigan -- struck down the National Security
Agency's program, which she said violates the rights to free speech and
privacy. (Read the complete ruling -- PDF)
The defendants "are permanently enjoined from directly or indirectly
utilizing the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP) in any way, including,
but not limited to, conducting warrantless wiretaps of telephone and
Internet communications, in contravention of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act and Title III," she wrote.
She further declared that the program "violates the separation of
powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth
amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title
III."
She went on to say that "the president of the United States ... has
undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial
orders."
In its statement announcing the appeal, the Justice Department rejected
the judge's reasoning.
"In the ongoing conflict with al Qaeda and its allies, the president
has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American
people," the Justice Department said. "The Constitution gives
the president the full authority necessary to carry out that solemn duty,
and we believe the program is lawful and protects civil
liberties."
The lawsuit, filed January 17 by civil rights organizations, lawyers,
journalists and educators, "challenges the constitutionality of a
secret government program to intercept vast quantities of the
international telephone and Internet communications of innocent Americans
without court approval."
The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of Michigan. Plaintiffs included branches of the American Civil Liberties
Union, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the
Washington and Detroit branches of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations and Greenpeace.
The judge in the case, Taylor, 75, has been on the Eastern District of
Michigan bench since 1979. Appointed by President Carter, she became one
of the first African-American women to sit on a federal court.
Program under scrutiny
Electronic surveillance programs run by the NSA have been under fire
since December, when The New York Times disclosed that the government was
listening in -- without first obtaining a court order -- on international
phone calls involving people suspected of having ties to
terrorists.
Some legal scholars said the program is an illegal and unwarranted
intrusion on Americans' privacy, but the Bush administration defended it
as a necessary tool in the battle against al Qaeda.
Opinion polls suggest the U.S. public has been divided on the NSA
program. A CNN poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp. on May 16-17
found that 50 percent of the respondents believe the program was
"wrong," while 44 percent believe it was "right." The
poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percent.
The plaintiffs alleged their communications with parties outside the
country were being monitored by the NSA's wiretapping program. The
complaint said the NSA's surveillance disrupts "the ability of the
plaintiffs to talk with sources, locate witnesses, conduct scholarship
and engage in advocacy."
On May 26, instead of responding to arguments attacking the legality of
the NSA's eavesdropping program, the government filed for dismissal of
the case, citing the "U.S. military and state secrets
privilege" and arguing the government would not be able to defend
the domestic spying program without disclosing classified
information.
ACLU official calls ruling 'landmark victory'
"Today's ruling is a landmark victory against the abuse of power
that has become the hallmark of the Bush administration," said
Anthony D. Romero, the ACLU's executive director.
"Government spying on innocent Americans without any kind of warrant
and without congressional approval runs counter to the very foundations
of our democracy. We hope that Congress follows the lead of the court and
demands that the president adhere to the rule of law."
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, called the ruling "a strong rebuke
of this administration's illegal wiretapping program.
"The president must return to the Constitution and follow the
statutes passed by Congress," he said in a statement. "We all
want our government to monitor suspected terrorists, but there is no
reason for it to break the law to do so."
Also in a statement, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, said, "This has
become another unfortunate example of how White House misdirection,
arrogance and mismanagement have needlessly complicated our goal of
protecting the American people.
"By following the Constitution and our laws, we can protect both our
security and our American values," said Leahy, the ranking Democrat
on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, said he backs the
government's appeal of the ruling.
"Terrorists are the real threat to our constitutional and democratic
freedoms, not the law enforcement and intelligence tools used to keep
America safe," Frist said in a statement.
"We need to strengthen, not weaken, our ability to foil terrorist
plots before they can do us harm. I encourage swift appeal by the
government and quick reversal of this unfortunate
decision."
In July, Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee,
said the White House agreed to submit the program to the FISA court for
review.
Specter, R-Pennsylvania, and the White House said they would support
legislation that would consolidate about 30 lawsuits filed against the
government, transferring them to the FISA court so there would be a
single forum in which to litigate them.
But the legislation has not passed through the Judiciary Committee, let
alone the Senate, and it may never be approved, as Democrats have raised
objections to a number of its key components.
Specter was in India and not immediately available for comment on the
ruling.
CNN's Bill Mears and Andrea Koppel contributed to this report.
We Hunt Spies, We Stop Espionage, We Kill
Bugs, and We Plug Leaks.
James M. Atkinson, President and Sr. Engineer
Granite Island Group
127 Eastern Avenue #291
Gloucester, MA 01930-8008
Phone: (978) 546-3803
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:22 CST