Privacy

20 August 2007 -- The Democratic chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has threatened to hold members of the Bush administration in contempt for withholding documents subpoenaed by his panel. The administration did not meet a Monday deadline for handing over information about the legal justification for its wiretapping program.    » read more »

August 16, 2007 -- Washington, DC — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today sent President Bush the following letter, requesting that the President provide all documents and other information sought by the House and Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees in order to conduct oversight of the implementation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA):

August 16, 2007

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:    » read more »

August 14, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following letter today to Senators Jay Rockefeller and Pat Leahy, encouraging them to develop long-term modernizations to FISA that better serve our national security interests than the law signed by President Bush this month:

August 14, 2007

The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV
Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Jay and Pat:    » read more »

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10—The president of the American Bar Association today called on Congress to scrap a week-old law expanding the government’s power to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens.

Karen J. Mathis, president of the nation’s largest lawyers’ association, also said that most Americans have gradually come to see the importance of preserving constitutional liberties, even as the struggle against terrorist violence continues.    » read more »

August 9, 2007 -- Secretary Chertoff: Good morning, everybody. I'm joined by Kip Hawley, who is the Administrator of TSA, and by Commissioner Ralph Basham of Customs and Border Protection, and Kathy Kraninger, who is the head of our Screening Coordination Office. I want to thank you all for joining us today.    » read more »

August 9, 2007 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today steps that will strengthen aviation security through uniform and consistent passenger prescreening against government watch lists.    » read more »

CHICAGO August 6, 2007 -- The American Bar Association is deeply concerned that in passing revisions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Congress has allowed a great expansion of the warrantless surveillance of American citizens, without adequate checks and balances to prevent invasions of privacy.    » read more »

August 7, 2007 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) yesterday asked for and received a letter from Admiral Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, detailing assurances he made to Senators on Friday evening that temporary modifications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act will not infringe on the rights of Americans.

Admiral McConnell’s letter is attached below.

The following is Senator Feinstein’s comment:    » read more »

August 5, 2007 -- "When our intelligence professionals have the legal tools to gather information about the intentions of our enemies, America is safer. And when these same legal tools also protect the civil liberties of Americans, then we can have the confidence to know that we can preserve our freedoms while making America safer.    » read more »

06 August 2007 -- President Bush has signed into law a bill that gives the U.S. government more power to eavesdrop on suspected foreign terrorists.

The legislation lifts a previous requirement that such surveillance could not begin without advance permission from a court. Mr. Bush says in a statement Sunday that this change will give U.S. agents "dynamic and flexible" tools for counterterrorism work.    » read more »

July 5, 2007 -- On Thursday, June 28, 2007, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and EU Commissioner Franco Frattini initialed an international agreement between the United States and the European Union on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from air carriers operating transatlantic flights to and from the U.S.

Secretary Chertoff issued the following statement about the agreement:    » read more »

Suit versus Federal Government on Access to Phone Calling Records Due to be Argued in U.S. District Court Thursday

June 20, 2007 -- Trenton, NJ – The state of New Jersey will pursue its arguments in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Thursday to dismiss an attempt by the federal government to block state officials from investigating potential violations of state consumer privacy laws.    » read more »

April 25, 2007 -- "This decision offers a milestone opportunity to protect personal privacy and individual civil rights against unnecessary and unwarranted intrusion. The DPUC has rightfully asserted its authority to investigate whether AT&T and Verizon illegally disclosed consumer records to federal authorities.

"Telephone companies cannot run roughshod over basic privacy rights. Without a lawful warrant, phone companies' consumer records cannot be released.    » read more »

Governor’s Bill Will Guarantee a Woman’s Right to Make Decisions Related to Her Personal Reproductive Health

April 25, 2007 -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced his plans to submit legislation that will update New York's laws pertaining to reproductive rights and establish a fundamental, statutory right to privacy for women in making personal reproductive decisions.    » read more »