Illegal Spying

ILLEGAL SPYING

• 1. December, 2000

  2. Declassified document created by Bush's transition team prior to his taking office. It shows Bush's executive order to authorize spying by the NSA prior to 9/11. On page 32, it says:

"Senior leadership must understand that today's and tomorrow's mission will demand a powerful, permanent presence on a global telecommunications network that will host the 'protected' communications of Americans as well as the targeted communications of adversaries" (NSA/CSS spying authorization)

• 1. November, 29, 2002

  2. Declassified FBI document revealing spying on anti-war groups in Pennsylvania. (Declassified Document)

  3. February 26, 2003

  4. Another Declassified FBI document revealing spying on anti-war groups in Pennsylvania (Declassified Document)

  5. April 19, 2004 - April 20, 2004

  6. Audio showing Bush's knowledge of the FISA law. These audio clips also shows that Bush was knowingly breaking and lying in regards to the law, and his compliance with it.

     • April 19, 2004

     • "You see, what that meant is -- if you got a wiretap by court order -- and, by the way, everything you hear about requires court order, requires there to be permission from a FISA court, for example. ...And they're an important tool for those who are on the front line of using necessary means, with court order, to find these terrorists before they hurt us..."

     • [Audio] (White House Transcript and Video)

     • April 20, 2004

     • "Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so."

     • [Audio] (White House Transcript and Video)

• 1. December 17th, 2005

  2. Bush admits to spying. In this clip, Bush attempts to justify the breaking of the law, and attempts to minimize the scope of his spying programs. During this speech, he indicates that his spying program is used to:

"intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations." And also says, "I have reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September the 11th attacks ..." Later, it will be revealed that his program is larger in scope than he indicates here. (White House Transcript and Video)

• 1. January 20, 2006

  2. Speech by a U.S. citizen presented to a U.S. House Juniciary Committee briefing. This citizen, along with other Quakers, was spied on in their church and homes.

"I was spied on in a house of worship in the United States and in private homes in Florida where I was meeting with other peaceful persons engaged in constitutionally protected activity." [Audio](U.S. House Judiciary Meeting)

• 1. January 20, 2006

  2. Speech by the ACLU regarding its lawsuit involving the spying programs ordered by Bush.

"the Pentagon has been spying and maintaining files on Americans exercising their first amendment rights."

"The NSA scandal is the latest and greatest in a long line of abuses." [Audio] (ACLU Testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee)

• 1. May 12, 2006

  2. It's revealed in a USA Today report that the NSA spied on millions of American's private domestic calls on the authorization of Bush, violating the FISA act, and a 1934 telecommunication's act:

"The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, adopted in 1978, requires the government to go before a special court and obtain a warrant for electronic surveillance related to international espionage and terrorism. The statute defines the covered communication to include any information about the identity of the parties... Qwest was the only major phone company to decline to turn over records to the NSA. Its lawyers asked NSA to take its proposal to the FISA court. The agency declined; USA TODAY reported Thursday that two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said it was because the NSA thought the court would not agree to the plan. A communication act dating to 1934 and more recent electronic privacy laws generally require phone companies to protect the confidentiality of customers' communication." (USA Today, 5/12/2006)

• 1. August 17, 2006

  2. U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled that the NSA wiretapping program violates the 1st and 4th Amendments to the Constitution.

"'There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution,' she said in her 44-page decision. Taylor said that if the program were allowed to continue, it would irreparably harm the rights of the plaintiffs, which included the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Greenpeace, and individuals, including scholars and attorneys. 'The public interest is clear in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution,' Taylor wrote. [...] In response to the assertion that the warrantless wiretapping program was necessary to the defense of the nation, Taylor quoted a 1967 decision of then-Chief Justice Earl Warren: 'It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of … those liberties … which makes the defense of the nation worthwhile.' [...] The judge said that if she were to accept the government's contention that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue, a host of illegal acts by the government 'would be immunized from judicial scrutiny. It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.' And she said the plaintiffs had shown that they had suffered 'a real and concrete harm' as a result of the surveillance program. Taylor flatly rejected the government lawyers' contention that they could not defend the case without exposing state secrets. She noted that government officials had publicly confirmed a number of elements of the surveillance program, and that in court their lawyers supported their arguments for the legality of the program without revealing any secrets. Consequently, she said, she found the government's position that it could not defend the case without classified information 'disingenuous and without merit.'" (L.A. Times, 8/18/2006)

• 1. November 1, 2006

  2. Pentagon/ FBI Documents declassified reveaingl widespread domestic surveillance of political groups in various parts of the country occuring between November 2004 and May 2005. (Declassified Document)

• 1. Dec. 10, 2006

  2. Bush adds signing statement to a congressional bill "re-interpreting" it to allow him to read U.S. citizen's mail without first obtaining a warrant.

"President Bush signed a little-noticed statement last month asserting the authority to open U.S. mail without judicial warrants in emergencies or foreign intelligence cases, prompting warnings yesterday from Democrats and privacy advocates that the administration is attempting to circumvent legal restrictions on its powers."(Washington Post, 1/5/2007)