Prominent Journalists, Nonprofit Groups, Terrorism Experts and Community
Advocates Join First Lawsuit to Challenge New NSA Spying Program
NEW YORK, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Saying that the Bush administration's
illegal spying on Americans must end, the American Civil Liberties Union today
filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the National Security Agency seeking
to stop a secret electronic surveillance program that has been in place since
shortly after September 11, 2001.
"President Bush may believe he can authorize spying on Americans without
judicial or Congressional approval, but this program is illegal and we intend
to put a stop to it," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "The
current surveillance of Americans is a chilling assertion of presidential
power that has not been seen since the days of Richard Nixon."
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a group of prominent journalists,
scholars, attorneys, and national nonprofit organizations (including the ACLU)
who frequently communicate by phone and e-mail with people in the Middle East.
Because of the nature of their calls and e-mails, they believe their
communications are being intercepted by the NSA under the spying program. The
program is disrupting their ability to talk with sources, locate witnesses,
conduct scholarship, and engage in advocacy. The program, which was first
disclosed by The New York Times on December 16, has sparked national and
international furor and has been condemned by lawmakers across the political
spectrum.
In addition to the ACLU, the plaintiffs in today's case are:
Authors and journalists James Bamford, Christopher Hitchens and Tara
McKelvey
Afghanistan scholar Barnett Rubin of New York University's Center on
International Cooperation and democracy scholar Larry Diamond, a fellow
at the Hoover Institution
Nonprofit advocacy groups NACDL, Greenpeace, and Council on American
Islamic Relations, who joined the lawsuit on behalf of their staff and
membership
"The prohibition against government eavesdropping on American citizens is
well-established and crystal clear," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann
Beeson, who is lead counsel in ACLU v. NSA. "President Bush's claim that he
is not bound by the law is simply astounding. Our democratic system depends on
the rule of law, and not even the president can issue illegal orders that
violate Constitutional principles."
According to news reports, President Bush signed an order in 2002 allowing
the NSA to monitor the telephone and e-mail communications of "hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States" with persons abroad,
without a court order as the law requires. Under the program, the NSA is also
engaging in wholesale datamining by sifting through millions of calls and e-
mails of ordinary Americans.
Journalist James Bamford, a plaintiff and one of the world's leading
experts on U.S. intelligence and the National Security Agency, said that "the
spying program removes a necessary firewall that would prevent the kind of
government abuse seen during the Watergate scandal." Bamford was threatened
with prosecution in the 1970s as he prepared to disclose unclassified details
about illegal NSA spying on Americans in his book, The Puzzle Palace.
In the legal complaint filed, the ACLU said the spying program violates
Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth
Amendments of the Constitution.
The ACLU also charged that the program violates the Constitution because
President Bush exceeded his authority under separation of powers principles.
Congress has enacted two statutes, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
and Title III of the federal criminal code, which are "the exclusive means by
which electronic surveillance. . . and the interception of domestic wire,
oral, and electronic communications may be conducted."
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of
Michigan, seeks a court order declaring that the NSA spying is illegal and
ordering its immediate and permanent halt. Attorneys in the case are Beeson,
Jameel Jaffer, and Melissa Goodman of the national ACLU Foundation, and
Michael Steinberg of the ACLU of Michigan. The lawsuit names as defendants the
NSA and Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, the current the Director of the
NSA.
For more information on the lawsuit, including the legal complaint, fact
sheets on the case law and on the NSA spying program, and links to statements
from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, please go to
http://www.aclu.org/nsaspying.
The ACLU will hold a teleconference Tuesday January 17 at 11:00 AM
(Eastern) to discuss the lawsuit. To join the call dial 1-800-230-1059.
SOURCE American Civil Liberties Union
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Related links:
http://www.aclu.org/nsaspying
CONTACT:
Erica Pelletreau, +1-212-519-7829 or
+1-212-549-2666, media@aclu.org
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