Following Bush lead, Obama moves to block challenge to wiretapping program

[SkinsHokieFan]

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_follows_Bush_policy_on_wiretapping_0406.html

Wants case against NSA dismissed

President Barack Obama invoked "state secrets" to prevent a court from reviewing the legality of the National Security Agency's warantless wiretapping program, moving late Friday to have a lawsuit that challenged the program dismissed.

The move -- which holds that information surrounding the massive eavesdropping program should be kept from the public because of its sensitivity -- follows an earlier decision in March to block handover of documents relating to the Bush Administration's decision to spy on a charity. The arguments also mirror the Bush Administration's efforts to dismiss an earlier suit against AT&T.

The decision Friday involves a lawsuit filed by the civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is suing the NSA for the wiretapping program. The agency monitored the telephone calls and emails of thousands of people within the United States without a court's approval in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks.

In attempting to block a San Fransisco court from reviewing documents relating to the NSA program, the Obama Administration is also protecting other individuals named as defendants in the suit: Vice President Dick Cheney, former Cheney chief of staff David Addington and former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

It also stands firmly behind the telecommunications giant AT&T. AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein revealed that the company allowed the agency to install network monitoring hardware to spy on American citizens.

The Director of National Intelligence, the Justice Department says, "has set forth a more than reasonable basis to conclude that harm to national security would result from the disclosure of whether the NSA has worked with any telecommunications carrier." AT&T is specifically mentioned. Public reports have fingered AT&T, Verizon, MCI and Sprint as participating in the government's eavesdropping efforts.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Michael Hertz penned the brief on behalf of the Obama Justice Department.

"The grounds for this motion [to dismiss] are that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction with respect to plaintiffs' statutory claims against the United States because Congress has not waived sovereign immunity, and summary judgment for the Government on all of plaintiffs' remaining claims against all parties... is required because information necessary to litigate plantiffs' claims is property subject to and excluded from use in this case by the state secrets privilege and related statutory privileges," Hertz and other trial attorneys for the Justice Department wrote.

The Justice Department also holds that the lawsuit can't proceed because of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Congress expanded the wiretapping program in 2008 with passage of amendments to the Act, which gave telecom companies immunity for past and future participation in the program and expanded the legal use of warrantless wiretaps from 48 hours to seven days. The revised Act also allowed the government to destroy records of previous taps.

Obama voted for the revised Act while a senator last year.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation fired off a scathing press release Monday.

"President Obama promised the American people a new era of transparency, accountability, and respect for civil liberties," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston in the release. "But with the Obama Justice Department continuing the Bush administration's cover-up of the National Security Agency's dragnet surveillance of millions of Americans, and insisting that the much-publicized warrantless wiretapping program is still a 'secret' that cannot be reviewed by the courts, it feels like deja vu all over again."

[SnyderShrugged]

"President Obama promised the American people a new era of transparency, accountability, and respect for civil liberties," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston in the release. "But with the Obama Justice Department continuing the Bush administration's cover-up of the National Security Agency's dragnet surveillance of millions of Americans, and insisting that the much-publicized warrantless wiretapping program is still a 'secret' that cannot be reviewed by the courts, it feels like deja vu all over again."

change

[Thiebear]

-1 for rhetoric.

I will say that it will be hard for the Democrat Congress to prosecute Cheney/Rove/Bush on this stuff if current administration continues a bulk of the policy.

[Kilmer17]

Meet the new boss.

[USS Redskins]

Good for Obama. Tools are needed to fight this war - even though they arent allowed to call it a war anymore. I tend to think the only people that should be worried are the bad guys. The NSA can listen to me if they want to be bored to death.

So now, are the same people who called out Bush for this still "outraged?"

[Burgold]

Boo on Obama. The system worked. 90+% of the requests for wiretaps were approved, intelligence agents could even wiretap and then apply for permission retroactively if the circumstances demanded. Checks and balances are vital. There has to be a way to review this without endangering national security. I think Obama is very wrong in this instance.

No one should trust the government to always do the right thing and not abuse its power.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

This is some good change

[ACW]

:doh::doh::doh:

Change my ass.

[zoony]

It's certainly within an executive's rights and best interests to do what Obama is doing here. Not everything should be public knowledge, no matter how much certain groups whine and cry.

That said, this kind of move by an Executive has a lot more credibility coming from a guy who just closed Guantanamo and just made clear that the US will not torture.

And change for the sake of change is meaningless, not to mention dumb. Change should come where it is needed and where it puts the interests of our nation first. Seeing that MO from the white house is a good thing

....

[Mad Mike]

Obama is doing his job and not listening to the wackos and radicals. Good for him.

[zoony]

Obama is doing his job and not listening to the wackos and radicals. Good for him.

that's 2 beers I owe you.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

That said, this kind of move by an Executive has a lot more credibility coming from a guy who just closed Guantanamo and just made clear that the US will not torture.

The closing of Gitmo is just symbolism. He's going to put them in a similar place...it just wont be called Gitmo anymore.

[Mad Mike]

It's certainly within an executive's rights and best interests to do what Obama is doing here. Not everything should be public knowledge, no matter how much certain groups whine and cry.

That said, this kind of move by an Executive has a lot more credibility coming from a guy who just closed Guantanamo and just made clear that the US will not torture.

And change for the sake of change is meaningless, not to mention dumb. Change should come where it is needed and where it puts the interests of our nation first. Seeing that MO from the white house is a good thing

....

Thank you. I'm not clear headed enough this morning to say it as well so I'll just ad a +1. :applause:

[Larry]

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

[Mad Mike]

The closing of Gitmo is just symbolism. He's going to put them in a similar place...it just wont be called Gitmo anymore.

He's reviewing all of the cases. The ones they find they can let go or send to another country that will take them, they will. The ones who are considered too big of a threat will be kept locked up. Do you have a problem with that?

[Thiebear]

lot more credibility coming from a guy who just closed Guantanamo and just made clear that the US will not torture.

Who is this hypothetical guy: I remember both Bush and Obama "wanting" to close it down, but unfortunately nobody is willing to take the "inhabitants".

[The 12th Commandment]

How dare he lead from the center! Wingnuts UNITE!

[SnyderShrugged]

How dare he lead from the center! Wingnuts UNITE!

Looks a lot more like following rather than leading

[PokerPacker]

great, so rather than having a liberal in office, we have another authoritarian. that's just swell.

[SnyderShrugged]

great, so rather than having a liberal in office, we have another authoritarian. that's just swell.

Liberal seems to = authoritarian these days, though so does the modern brand of so called conservatism too.

might as well say D + R = Authoritarian

[Larry]

[nixon]

If it's classified, it's not unconstitutional.

[/nixon]

[PokerPacker]

Liberal seems to = authoritarian these days, though so does the modern brand of so called conservatism too.

might as well say D + R = Authoritarian

It would seem so. I knew the Republicans were authoritarian, but I had hoped the Democrats would at least still be liberal. Guess we just don't even have the lesser of two evils to vote for anymore, do we?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Its certainly disappointing to see this.

[zoony]

Its certainly disappointing to see this.

Of course, you say this knowing exactly what is at stake, right?

Or do you not trust the wisdom and credibility of our President?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Of course, you say this knowing exactly what is at stake, right?

Or do you not trust the wisdom and credibility of our President?

I trust the Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers.

I don't feel like I, personally, need to know everything that the executive branch is doing, but I do feel that there needs to be a check on its power.... So, I don't see why the judicial branch can't have the check on it the Constitution grants it.