Domestic Surveillance: National Security Agency Warrantless Wiretapping
Tools and Resources
Resolutions
Government Documents and Reports
Testimony
Articles
Kate Martin on Wiretapping
See also:
Domestic surveillance and spying on protesters and groups
- Distribute Domestic Eavesdropping in America (one page flyer, PDF)
- Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v George W. Bush was heard by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on August 15, 2007. Oral arguments broadcast on C-Span reveal the government's insistence that even though the document revealing government spying exists and has been seen by many attorneys, the Department of Justice wants to deny that evidence, and alleges that hearing the case poses a threat to national security. The government's presentation caused Judge McKeown to say, "I feel like I'm Alice and Wonderland.", to which Oakland attorney Jon Eisenberg said, "I feel like I'm in Alice in Wonderland too."
- A number of documents from the Electronic Frontier Foundation's AT&T class action lawsuit are now available. Read the statement by Mark Klein, wiring diagrams from the AT&T spy room, the declaration by Scott J. Marcus, the original documents given to Wired News by Klein, and the EFF's argument to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- BORDC October 5 & 10, 2006, conference call on Military Commissions and warrantless wiretapping.
- Read this comprehensive report on warrantless wiretapping The End of Illegal Domestic Spying? Don't Count on It written by BORDC Board President Joe "Chip" Pitts. (March 15, 2007)
- Read the letter to Attorney General Gonzales from Representatives Adam B. Schiff (D-CA-29th) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ-6th) requesting answers about the Administration's recent decision to use the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for its "Terrorist Surveillance Program." (February 8, 2007)
- Podcast of discussion of Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. George W. Bush case from November 20, 2006. Al-Haramain, an Oregon charity sued the government after receiving a top-secret government document indicating the charity and its attorneys had been illegally spied on under the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program. Speakers include Stephen Goldberg and Ashlee Albies, co-counsel in the case. It is the only court case pending that has a government document possibly proving the warrantless wiretapping specifically harmed them.
- Letter to House and Senate leadership recommending against immunity for telecommunications companies that disobeyed the law, signed by national, regional and local organizations, including the BORDC and many local BORDCs (November 13, 2006).
- BORDC Responses to the Bush Administration's Defenses of National Security Agency Warrantless Wiretaps
- At-a-glance FISA wiretapping warrant process. BORDC and the Center for National Security Studies teamed up to show when warrants are required and when they are not.
- Listen to Kate Martin, Director of the Center for National Security Studies, as she talks about the issue of warrantless wiretapping (April 18, 2006).
- 9/25, Congress Poised to Consider Dangerous NSA Bills: read the analysis from the Center for Democracy and Technology.
- Read a 9/13 statement by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) regarding the Senate Judiciary Committee's approval of the Specter bill, S.2453.
- Read Senator Russ Feingold's September 7, 2006, statement about Senator Specter's bill, S. 2453, before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- September 6, 2006, letter to Senator Specter from the bipartisan group of six Senate sponsors of the SAFE Act. The letter urges Senator Specter to hold more hearings before proceeding with his bill.
- August 3 letter (PDF) from more than 30 organizations to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter More urging him to abandon a proposal that would authorize unchecked, warrantless surveillance of Americans in the United States
- July 14 scholar's letter (PDF) to congress, post-Hamdan rebutting the administration's Article II argument.
- Unanswered Questions: Questions posed to Attorney General Gonzales at the February 6, 2006 Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Wartime Executive Power
- American Bar Association Task Force on Domestic Surveillance in the Fight Against Terrorism, Report and Recommendations
- A statement of the Coalition to Defend Checks and Balances (February 27, 2006)
- Electronic Frontier Foundation class action suit against AT&T for collaboration with illegal domestic spying program
- Hampton, CT, Resolution to Censure the President, passed May 15, 2006.
- On April 17, 2006, Detroit District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled that NSA warrantless wiretaps are illegal under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and unconstitutional under the First and Fourth Amendments.
- San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolution urging the administration to stop warrantless wiretapping (passed on April 4, 2006, unanimously). The resolution was based on the "model resolution" below. Read an article about the resolution's passage here.
- Georgetown University Law student government resolution against illegal surveillance (passed March 29, 2006). Students are now urging the University to adopt a similar resolution in support of students' constitutional rights and academic freedom.
- American Bar Association resolution, passed February 13, 2006.
- Vermont Joint resolution relating to the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance of Americans, introduced February 8, 2006.
- Model resolution for state and local governments.
Government Documents and Reports
- Full Text of Arlen Specter's Letter to Dick Cheney on Bush Wiretapping Scandal
- March 16 statement of Senator Arlen Specter introducing his "National Security Surveillance Act," which would subject the Bush Administration's warrantless surveillance program to the adjudication of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. See also a bill introduced by Senator Mike DeWine and three Republican colleagues, the "Terrorist Surveillance Act," which would nullify the requirements of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and authorize warrantless surveillance for up to 45 days without any judicial authorization.
- February 10 poll commissioned by the American Bar Association, which reports that 77% of Americans have reservations about the president's secret surveillance program.
- February 9 letter from Senators Kennedy and Feingold in response to the telecommunication industry's involvement in illegal wiretapping
- February 6 U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on wartime executive power and the National Security Agency's Surveillance Authority—transcripts: Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.
- January 27, 2006, Department of Justice document defending the NSA spy program: "Myth V. Reality"
- January 20, 2006, Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post, Administration Paper Defends Spy Program (download the January 19, 2006, DOJ document, Legal Authorities Supporting the Activities of the National Security Agency Described by the President in PDF Format)
- January 9 letter to Congressional leaders from fourteen prominent constitutional experts and former government officials characterizing the Bush administration's defense of its NSA domestic spying program as lacking "any plausible legal authority."
- January 4, 2006, memo by the Congressional Research Service setting forth its interpretation of Authorization For Use Of Military Force in Response to the 9/11 Attacks (P.L. 107-40): Legislative History, and the Department of Justice letter setting forth the administration's interpretation of the AUMF to which the CRS memo responds
- Jim Downey's response to Senator Arlen Spector's letter to Attorney General Gonzalez RE: Domestic Surveillance
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, March 31, 2006:
(Note: Not all testimony from the hearing is available. We will link to the Judiciary Committee web site after it posts the testimony.)
Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on NSA: Wartime Executive Powers and the FISA Court
Hearing #3, March 28, 2006, with testimony and statements by Morton Halperin and Senator Patrick Leahy
Hearing #2, February 21, 2006, with testimony and statements by James Woolsey, Harold Hongju Koh, Professor Ken Gormley, Professor Douglas Kmiec, Robert Turner, Robert Levy, and Senator Patrick Leahy.
Hearing
#1, January 18, 2006, with testimony and statements by Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales and Senator Patrick Leahy.
Articles (* indicates good choices for literature)
- June 18, 2007, Robert Baer, TIME, Is Assasination Allowed or Not?
- March 15, 2007, Joe W Pitts, Washington Spectator, The End of Illegal Spying? Don't Count on It
- January 16, 2007, David Walsh, World Socialist Website, Military, CIA prying into Americans’ financial records
- January 15, 2007, Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, Cheney Defends Efforts to Obtain Records
- January 14, 2007, Ryan Olden, The Jurist, Pentagon and CIA viewing US domestic financial records
- January 7, 2007, California Chronicle, Schiff, Flake Introduce “NSA Oversight Act”
- January 3, 2007, Pamela A. MacLean, The National Law Journal, 7th Circuit Ruling Expands Use of FISA Wiretaps
- January 1, 2007, Brendan Coyne, The New Standard, AT&T Sued over NSA Wiretap Support
- December 26, 2006, Joseph Goldstein, New York Sun, Courts Side With NSA On Wiretaps
- December 22, 2006, Julia Cheever, Bay City News Service, Judge mulls two pretrial motions in domestic surveillance lawsuits
- September 13, 2006, Laurie Kellman, Associated Press, Senate Republicans Block Attempt to Curb Wiretapping
- September 7, 2006, Associated Press, Senate Committee Stalls Specter's Eavesdropping Bill
- August 21, 2006, Kate Martin, Nieman Watchdog, Specter’s ‘compromise’ limits judicial review and opens a Pandora’s Box
- July 25, 2006, Laurie Kellman, Associated Press, Sen. Specter Readies Bill to Sue Bush
- July 21, 2006, David Kravets, Associated Press, Judge Won't Dismiss Eavesdropping Lawsuit
- July 21, 2006, Dan Eggen, The Washington Post, Surveillance Bill Meets Resistance in Senate
- July 20, 2006, Matt Kelley, USA Today, Feds sharpen secret tools for data mining
- April 13, 2006, John Markoff and Scott Shane, Documents Show Link Between AT&T and National Security Agency in Eavesdropping Case
- April 7, 2006, Dan Eggen, Washington Post, Warrantless Wiretaps Possible in U.S.
- March 27, 2006, Chitra Ragavan, US News & World Report, The Letter of the Law
- February 23, 2006, Patrick Radden Keefe, Boston Globe, The spy who bills us
- February 6, 2006, CNet News, Some companies helped the NSA, but which?
- January 29, 2006, New York Times Editorial, Spies, Lies and Wiretaps*
- January 24, 2006, Dan Eggen and Walter Pincus, Washington Post, Campaign to justify spying intensifies
- January 11, 2006, Scott Shane, New York Times, NSA audit of spying is not assessing legality
- January 10, 2006, Brian Ross, ABC News, NSA whistleblower alleges illegal spying
- January 8, 2006, Ray McGovern, Common Dreams, Eavesdropping: high tech, low legality
- January 7, 2006, Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post, Report rebuts Bush on spying; domestic action's legality challenged
- January 4, 2006, Eric Lichtblau and Scott Shane, New York Times, Files say agency initiated growth of spying effort
- January 4, 2006, Mark Hosenball, Newsweek, The Bush administration says its phone spying program yielded information that helped to foil at least two terror attacks. Some critics aren’t convinced.
- January 1, 2006, Walter Pincus, Washington Post/truthout, NSA shared spying information with other agencies
- December 26, 2005, Barron's Op-Ed by Thomas G. Donlan, Unwarranted Executive Power
- December 22, 2005, Edward M. Kennedy, Boston Globe, On wiretapping, Bush isn't listening to the Constitution
- December 20, 2005, David Cole, Salon.com/truthout, Bush's illegal spying
- December 15, 2005, New York Times/truthout, Bush lets US spy on callers without courts
Kate Martin on Warrantless Wiretapping
Listen to streaming audio from her 4/18/2006 talk:
Other Resources
Current Threats: Privacy/Freedom
from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
Domestic surveillance and
spying on protesters and groups