U.S. reasserts need to keep domestic surveillance secret - The Washington Post - 0 views
www.washingtonpost.com/...3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html
surveillance state NSA NSA-blowback litigation civil liberties
shared by Paul Merrell on 22 Dec 13
- No Cached
-
The Obama administration Friday reasserted its claim of state-secrets privilege to try to block a court from ruling on the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s interception of e-mails and phone calls on U.S. soil without a warrant. The reassertion of the privilege in two long-running lawsuits comes despite recent disclosures about the NSA’s programs and as President Obama is considering curbs to the NSA’s programs based on recommendations by a review panel he appointed.
-
The Obama administration Friday reasserted its claim of state-secrets privilege to try to block a court from ruling on the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s interception of e-mails and phone calls on U.S. soil without a warrant. The reassertion of the privilege in two long-running lawsuits comes despite recent disclosures about the NSA’s programs and as President Obama is considering curbs to the NSA’s programs based on recommendations by a review panel he appointed.
-
“In my judgment, disclosure of still-classified details regarding these intelligence-gathering activities, either directly or indirectly, would seriously compromise, if not destroy, important and vital ongoing intelligence operations,” Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said in a declaration filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California on Friday.In court filings, the government also acknowledged for the first time that sweeping collections of Americans’ phone and Internet metadata began under the Bush administration, in concert with a program of intercepting phone and e-mail content without warrants — programs that operated for years solely under executive power before being brought under court and congressional oversight. Clapper said in his declaration that President George W. Bush authorized the collection efforts on Oct. 4, 2001, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
- ...3 more annotations...
-
Jewel is suing on behalf of all AT&T customers, and Shubert is suing on behalf of all Americans.
-
At issue is the NSA’s program to intercept phone and e-mail communications without a warrant, which was placed under court supervision in 2007 and then authorized by Congress in 2007 and 2008. Jewel also is challenging the agency’s collection of Americans’ phone metadata, or call logs that include numbers dialed and call lengths and times. That program was placed under court supervision in 2006 on the basis of a statute that has been reauthorized several times since then. Its existence was revealed in June following a leak by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The government has already suffered a setback in the case. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White in July ruled that the government could not assert a state-secrets privilege when the underlying law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, offers a process to hear classified evidence in closed chambers.
-
The declassification of the Bush administration’s authorization of the programs came in response to White’s order to the government to review declarations filed in the case. The judge wanted to see what could be declassified in light of Snowden’s revelations as well as subsequent disclosures made by the government. The government also declassified eight other declarations filed in the litigation by senior intelligence officials alleging national security would be harmed by disclosing program information.
-
Ooh. Reasserting the State Secrets privilege when Congress has already waived it and the judge has already ruled that it doesn't apply. That's the U.S. Justice Department in action. No argument to frivolous to raise.
-
Also deserving of notice: The Feds had the right to take an immediate appeal from the judge's order to declassify but chose not to do so. Also, the finding that the State Secrets privilege did not apply was limited to the FISA section 215 bulk metadata collection. It's still in play for the search of communication content. Perhaps the "reassertion" was not a reassertion but an assertion involving another class of records.