Tag Archives: NSA Surveillance

Civil Liberties, Election, Featured, Privacy

Carly Fiorina Defends CIA Torture, Handed HP Servers To NSA

Sep 29, 2015 Rachel Blevins Leave a comment

GOP presidential candidate and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina defended the torture tactics used by the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11, and revealed her direct involvement in aiding the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ data.

In an interview with Yahoo News published on Monday, Fiorina insisted that the methods of torture used by the CIA to attempt to extract information from suspected Al-Qaeda operatives after 9/11, such as waterboarding, helped “keep our nation safe.”

“I believe that all of the evidence is very clear — that waterboarding was used in a very small handful of cases [and] was supervised by medical personnel in every one of those cases,” Fiorina said. “And I also believe that waterboarding was used when there was no other way to get information that was necessary.”

A heavily redacted summary of the Senate report on the torture methods, or “enhanced interrogation tactics,” was released in December 2014, and found that the program was abused and mishandled by the CIA.

The report claimed that the CIA misled government officials on the level of brutality being used in its torture program, and the effectiveness of the techniques used.

Fiorina also said that she had received a phone call from former NSA director Michael Hayden shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, asking her to “quickly provide his agency with HP computer servers for expanded surveillance.”

Hayden told Yahoo News that he used the HP servers to implement Stellar Wind, “the controversial warrantless wiretapping program, including the bulk collection of American citizens’ phone records and emails, that had been secretly ordered by the Bush White House.”

“I felt it was my duty to help, and so we did,” said Fiorina, confirming that she redirected a truck of HP servers from retail stores to the NSA’s headquarters.

“They were ramping up a whole set of programs and needed a lot of data crunching capability to try and monitor a whole set of threats,” Fiorina said. “What I knew at the time was our nation had been attacked.”

Fiorina also said that she has advised the NSA and the CIA to be “transparent as possible about as much as possible,” and that while she supports checks and balances, she is “not aware of circumstances” in which NSA surveillance “went too far” in its collection of Americans’ data.

Fiorina noted that she had once made a recommendation that former CIA Counterterrorism Center chief Jose Rodriguez, who was subjected to a criminal investigation after directing the destruction of videotapes showing waterboarding of detainees, should become a spokesman for the CIA. According to Yahoo News, Rodriguez was “very impressed with her then — and now.”

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Civil Liberties, Featured, Privacy

Federal Judge Pushes To Revive Fight Against NSA Surveillance

Sep 3, 2015 Rachel Blevins Leave a comment

A federal judge expressed interest in advancing a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance program.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon laid out a strategy on Wednesday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted his December 2013 injunction blocking the NSA program on Friday.

The NSA’s massive surveillance program, which collects Americans’ phone records, was ruled illegal in May by a federal appeals court, on the basis that the NSA’s broad collection “exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized.”

During a hearing on Wednesday, Leon encouraged conservative lawyer Larry Klayman, who initially brought the suit against the NSA, to amend his case to include customers of Verizon Business Network Services as well as ask a federal appeals court to dismiss an appeal on the case. Leon also noted the past ruling in which the appeals court found the NSA’s program illegal.

[quote_center]“This court has ruled. This court believes that tens of millions of Americans’ constitutional rights have been — and are being — violated,” Leon said. “If the court finds jurisdiction, I don’t have to write another opinion on the merits… It is written.”[/quote_center]

Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which was used to justify the NSA’s data collection, expired on June 1, and after debate as to whether the U.S. government should have any kind of surveillance program collecting data from innocent Americans, it was replaced by the USA Freedom Act.

Although the USA Freedom Act was presented as a law that would end the NSA’s data collection by putting bulk records into the hands of telephone companies, the Department of Justice filed a request asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to continue the NSA’s collection for six months.

The FISA Court approved the federal government’s request on June 29, reauthorizing NSA data collection through Nov. 29, 2015.

The upcoming due date is one that Leon mentioned during the hearing. He told Klayman that it is critical to move now due to the limited time window between now and November.

“The clock is running and there isn’t much time between now and November 29,” Leon said. “This court believes there are millions and millions of Americans whose constitutional rights have been and are being violated, but the window for action is very small – it’s time to move.”

Civil Liberties, Privacy

Federal Court Rules To Uphold Bulk Spying

Aug 28, 2015 Annabelle Bamforth Leave a comment

Three judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to uphold the NSA’s bulk spying program, rebuking a 2013 ruling that disputed the program’s legality and called the technology “almost Orwellian.”

In the December 2013 ruling, Judge Richard Leon of District of Columbia’s Federal District Court wrote that the program was likely in violation of the 4th Amendment. The 2013 ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by several plaintiffs and led by Larry Klayman, challenging the spying program. It was the first time that a public court had acknowledged a problem with the program’s constitutionality.

According to National Journal, the Republican-nominated judges ruled Friday that the plaintiffs challenging the program’s constitutionality do not have the “standing” to do so, and the ruling “reaffirmed Friday that the plaintiff did not demonstrate the ‘concrete and particularized’ injury required to be able to sue because he could not prove that his own metadata was caught up in the NSA’s dragnet.”

A separate ruling in May from the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had deemed the NSA’s data collection program illegal, but the FISA court was later authorized to continue the collection.

Due to the passage of the USA Freedom Act, the program is scheduled to end on November 29, 2015.

Civil Liberties, Election, Privacy

Jeb Bush Proposes Increasing NSA Spying Powers To Combat ‘Evildoers’

Aug 19, 2015 Rachel Blevins Leave a comment

GOP presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has been a particularly vocal advocate for the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance program, and on Tuesday he said he believes the NSA should have increased spying powers in order to combat “evildoers.”

Bush criticized the changes that were made to the NSA’s authority when the U.S. passed the USA Freedom Act after the Patriot Act expired in June. He also said he disagreed with the argument that the NSA collected bulk data records from innocent Americans violates their constitutionally protected privacy rights.

“There’s a place to find common ground between personal civil liberties and NSA doing its job,” Bush said. “I think the balance has actually gone the wrong way.”

In May, a federal appeals court ruled that NSA data collection is illegal, stating that Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which was used to justify the program, “cannot bear the weight the government asks us to assign to it, and that it does not authorize the telephone metadata program.”

Section 215 expired on June 1, and after lengthy debate in the Senate on whether the NSA should continue its illegal surveillance, the USA Freedom Act was passed on June 2. The USA Freedom Act changes the channels the government has to go through to collect Americans’ records by transferring bulk data collection records from the NSA, to private companies.

While the USA Freedom Act was supposed to end NSA’s bulk data collection, the Department of Justice submitted a request to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court asking the Court to reinstate the NSA’s collection for the next six months, and to ignore the ruling from the Federal Appeal’s Court. The FISA court approved the request, and allowed NSA data collection through November 29, 2015.

On Tuesday, Bush also criticized private technology companies for encrypting their products in an attempt to make it harder for the NSA to gain access.

[quote_center]“It makes it harder for the American government to do its job while protecting civil liberties to make sure evildoers aren’t in our midst,” Bush said.[/quote_center]

Throughout his Presidential campaign, Jeb Bush has tried to set himself apart from his brother and his father, both former U.S. presidents. The “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act,” or the USA Patriot Act, was signed into law by George W. Bush in Oct. 2001 in the aftermath of 9/11.

George W. Bush discussed a plan to “rid the world of evildoers” during a press conference on Sept. 16, 2001. “Your government is alert. The governors and mayors are alert that evil folks still lurk out there. As I said yesterday, people have declared war on America and they have made a terrible mistake,” he said. “My administration has a job to do and we’re going to do it. We will rid the world of the evil-doers.”

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Editor’s Pick, Featured, Government Accountability, Privacy

FISA Court Renews NSA Collection Of Phone Records

Jun 30, 2015 Annabelle Bamforth 7 Comments

The NSA has been authorized to resume bulk collection of American phone records while expired Patriot Act provisions give way to modified data collection practices under the USA Freedom Act.

According to an order on Monday by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the federal government’s request to renew dragnet data collection of U.S. phone metadata until November 29, 2015 was approved. As the Freedom Act reportedly prepares to implement limitations regarding some aspects of NSA surveillance, the legislation provides a “transition period” in which the NSA will be allowed to temporarily continue its controversial data collection practices that a federal appeals court had declared illegal in May.

“This application presents the question whether the recently-enacted USA FREEDOM Act, in amending Title V of FISA, ended the bulk collection of telephone metadata. The short answer is yes. But in doing so, Congress deliberately carved out a 180-day period following the date of enactment in which such collection was specifically authorized. For this reason, the Court approves the application in this case,” stated the order.

The Department of Justice had filed a request in June seeking to continue bulk data collection. The request, written by Justice Department national security chief John Carlin, cited the Freedom Act’s “orderly transition” clause and appeared to be asking FISA to ignore the May appeals court ruling.

“The Second Circuit’s recent panel opinion in ACLU v. Clapper, No. 14-42 (2d Cir. May 7, 2015) does not bar this Court from authorizing the production in bulk of call 6 detail records, notwithstanding its holding that Section 1861 does not authorize the bulk production of call detail records,” Carlin wrote in the June 2 request.

Civil Liberties, Government Accountability, Government Corruption, Politics, Privacy, Technology, US

Senate Advances USA Freedom Act, Begins Debate On Amendments

Jun 2, 2015 Rachel Blevins 2 Comments

On Tuesday, the United States Senate voted, 83-14, to advance the USA Freedom Act, opening it up to a series of amendments that will be voted on, before a final Senate vote on the bill on Tuesday afternoon.

The USA Freedom Act was created as a substitute for Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which expired at 12:01 a.m. on June 1. The controversial Section 215 was used by the National Security Agency to justify its bulk collection of Americans’ data. The campaign against extending the Patriot Act was led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who hailed the expiration of Section 215 as a victory over NSA spying.

Advocates of the USA Freedom Act presented it as a way to curb the powers of the NSA by transferring the bulk collection Americans’ phone records to private companies. However, those in opposition noted that it wouldn’t end the government’s collection; it would only change the channels the government went through to collect Americans’ records.

While the House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act with an overwhelming vote of 338-88, the bill failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate on May 22, with a 57-42, following Paul’s 10-hour and 30-minute speech against both the USA Freedom Act, and an extension of the Patriot Act, on May 20.

Following a weeklong recess, in which many lawmakers vowed to lobby for the three votes needed to pass the USA Freedom Act, it was advanced in the Senate on Sunday, with a vote of 77-17.

Now that the USA Freedom Act has advanced in the Senate, the debate on possible amendments to the bill will begin, and if any of those amendments are passed, the bill will then return to the House of Representatives for another vote.

The Guardian reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is presenting three amendments, which he called “common sense” safeguards for “fundamental and necessary counterterrorism tools.”

The first of McConnell’s proposed amendments would “allow for more time of the construction and testing of a system that does not yet exist,” the second would “ensure that the director of national intelligence is in charged with at least ensuring the readiness of the system,” and the third would require telecom companies to notify Congress when they “elect to change their data retention policies.”

While Paul has gained support from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, one of his most prominent allies has been Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a strong opponent of NSA surveillance.

Bloomberg reported that Paul and Wyden will propose nine amendments to the USA Freedom Act that would aid in increasing the visibility and restricting the actions of the intelligence agencies:

Require the government to get a warrant before collecting personal information from third parties.
Raise the standard for government collection of call records under FISA from “reasonable grounds” to “probable cause.”
Limit the government’s ability to use information gathered under intelligence authorities in unrelated criminal cases.
Amendment 1443: Make it easier to challenge the use of illegally obtained surveillance information in criminal proceedings.
Prohibit the government from requiring hardware and software companies to deliberately weaken encryption and other security features.
Clarify the bill’s definition of “specific selection terms.”
Require court approval for National Security Letters.
Prohibit the government from conducting warrantless reviews of Americans’ email and other communications under section 702 of the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act.
Strengthen the bill with additional provisions from previously introduced surveillance reform legislation.

Civil Liberties, Editor’s Pick, Featured, Government Accountability, Government Corruption, Politics, Privacy, Technology, US

Senate Reconvenes For Last-Minute Attempt To Revive Patriot Act

May 31, 2015 Rachel Blevins 2 Comments

UPDATE: June 1st 12:01 a.m. Eastern – Section 215 of the Patriot Act has expired.

UPDATE: 8 p.m. Eastern – The Senate voted, 77-17, to advance the USA Freedom Act, a bill that would change the channels through which the U.S. Government collects Americans’ data. Sunday’s vote sets up the bill for a final vote this week, and if passed, the bill would then be sent to President Obama to sign.

While the Senate waits for a final vote on the USA Freedom Act, three sections of the Patriot Act will expire on June 1, including the controversial Section 215, which is used by the National Security Agency to justify its collection of Americans’ phone records.

Following the vote to advance the USA Freedom Act, Sen. Rand Paul, who has led the campaign for abolishing the Patriot Act altogether, took to the Senate Floor, and said that although Section 215 will expire tonight, it will “only be temporary,” and those in favor of NSA surveillance will “ultimately get their way.”

“I think the majority of the American people do believe the government has gone too far,” Paul said. “In Washington, it’s the opposite, but I think Washington is out of touch. There will be 80 votes to say ‘continue the Patriot Act,’ maybe more, but if you go into the general public, if you get outside of the beltway and visit America, it’s completely the opposite.”

Paul also addressed comments from Senators such as Dan Coats (R-Ind.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who have equated a possible expiration of the Patriot Act to a “win” for terrorists around the world:

[pull_quote_center]The people who argue that the world will end, and we’ll be overrun by Jihadists tonight are trying to use fear. They want to take just a little bit of your liberty, and they get it by making you afraid. . . . They tell you if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. It’s a far cry from the standard we are founded upon: innocent until proven guilty.[/pull_quote_center]

6:20 p.m. Eastern – On Sunday, the United States Senate reconvened after a weeklong recess, for a last-minute debate on the future of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance program.

With the possible expiration of Section 215 of the Patriot Act approaching on June 1, the USA Freedom Act was created, and presented as a way to curb Section 215 by transferring the bulk collection Americans’ phone records to private companies. While advocates for the USA Freedom Act claim that it will end the NSA’s bulk data collection, those in opposition say that it wouldn’t end the government’s collection; it would only change the channels the government went through to collect Americans’ records.

While the USA Freedom Act was passed in the House of Representatives by an overwhelming vote of 338-88, it failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate, with a 57-42 vote on Friday.

Click here to watch the live feed from the Senate floor.

GOP Presidential candidate and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who led the charge to block a direct extension of the Patriot Act, vowed to force the expiration of the NSA’s massive surveillance program altogether.

On the Senate floor on Sunday, Paul was noted that the NSA’s massive surveillance program has been ruled illegal by a federal appeals court.

“We’re not collecting the information of spies,” Paul said. “We’re not collecting the information of terrorists. We’re collecting the information of Americans, all of the time.”

Civil Liberties, Editor’s Pick, Featured, Government Accountability, Politics, Privacy, US

Rand Paul To Force The Expiration of NSA Spy Program

May 30, 2015 Annabelle Bamforth 5 Comments

Senator and Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul (R-KY) will be spending Sunday forcing the expiration the Patriot Act’s surveillance provisions.

On Saturday, Paul made a declaration to refuse to allow any votes that would extend current law beyond its June 1st expiration, as well any votes for the USA Freedom Act that would reform portions of the Patriot Act.

Paul’s statement is in full below.

“I have fought for several years now to end the illegal spying of the NSA on ordinary Americans. The callous use of general warrants and the disregard for the Bill of Rights must end. Forcing us to choose between our rights and our safety is a false choice and we are better than that as a nation and as a people.

That’s why two years ago, I sued the NSA. It’s why I proposed the Fourth Amendment Protection Act. It’s why I have been seeking for months to have a full, open and honest debate on this issue– a debate that never came.

So last week, seeing proponents of this illegal spying rushing toward a deadline to wholesale renew this unconstitutional power, I filibustered the bill. I spoke for over 10 hours to call attention to the vast expansion of the spy state and the corresponding erosion of our liberties.

Then, last week, I further blocked the extension of these powers and the Senate adjourned for recess rather than stay and debate them.

Tomorrow, we will come back with just hours left before the NSA illegal spying powers expire.

Let me be clear: I acknowledge the need for a robust intelligence agency and for a vigilant national security. I believe we must fight terrorism, and I believe we must stand strong against our enemies.

But we do not need to give up who we are to defeat them. In fact, we must not.

There has to be another way. We must find it together. So tomorrow,

[bctt tweet=”I will force the expiration of the NSA illegal spy program. @RandPaul”]

I am ready and willing to start the debate on how we fight terrorism without giving up our liberty.

Sometimes when the problem is big enough, you just have to start over. The tax code and our regulatory burdens are two good examples.

Fighting against unconditional, illegal powers that take away our rights, taken by previous Congresses and administrations is just as important.

I do not do this to obstruct. I do it to build something better, more effective, more lasting, and more cognizant of who we are as Americans.”

Joining the fight against Patriot Act surveillance extension is Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI), who has been attending the House of Representatives’ pro forma sessions to block Speaker John Boehner from using low turnout to hold voice votes to extend the legislation’s spying provisions. Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) has joined Amash in keeping watch over a mostly empty House floor. “It only takes one of 435 members to be here on the floor of the House to stop something from passing on unanimous consent,” said Massie.

Activism, Civil Liberties, Editor’s Pick, Featured, Government Accountability, Privacy

“We Are Always Listening”: Anti-NSA Campaign Gone Too Far?

Video May 21, 2015 Annabelle Bamforth 3 Comments

The conversations of New York City residents and visitors are being secretly collected in several public locations throughout the city, according to an anonymous body satirically posing as a contractor for the NSA:

“Citizens don’t seem to mind this monitoring, so we’re hiding recorders in public places in hopes of gathering information to help win the war on terror. We’ve started with NYC as a pilot program, but hope to roll the initiative out all across The Homeland.”

The group is apparently aiming to send a startling message to people who may be uninformed or apathetic about the NSA’s controversial practice of collecting phone records of Americans in bulk. They are sending that message by fighting fire with fire: placing and concealing recorders all over NYC and publishing the content online.

There are currently six published recordings on the website “We Are Always Listening” as of Thursday morning that have ostensibly captured conversations caught in locations including restaurants and bars. One published conversation, which allegedly took place at the Building on Bond restaurant in Brooklyn, bears the title “We’re Listening as You Discuss Your Most Intimate Moments; A fetish-fueled hookup reveals perversions which shall be kept on file.” Another conversation picked up at the Brindle Room restaurant allegedly exposed “Asians belittling other Asians for sounding too Asian.”

Each recording identifies the location of the recording device, the conversation’s “terrorism status”, and the current status of the device.

The group sent WIRED an email ahead of its launch on Wednesday, claiming to have covertly planted dozens of microcassette recorders throughout various locations NYC over the year. “The NSA employs many 3rd party contractors, [and] we consider ourselves to be contractors of this nature, albeit in a unpaid and unsanctioned capacity,” stated the email. “We can attest to the fact all people recorded are NOT actors and are not knowingly involved in the project in any way.”

In addition to the recordings, the website has a link titled “Angry?” which directs visitors to an ACLU page. That page contains a contact form to send to Congress requesting the expiration of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the provision used by the NSA to collect American phone records.

The intent of the group’s mission seems to be aimed at drawing attention to the issue of massive government surveillance. But is this campaign going to effectively promote the idea of protecting citizen privacy?

Civil Liberties, Government Accountability, Politics, Privacy, Technology, US

Jeb Bush: Enhanced NSA Spying Is The Best Part Of The Obama Administration

Apr 22, 2015 Rachel Blevins 31 Comments

On Tuesday, former Florida governor and rumored 2016 GOP Presidential candidate Jeb Bush was on the Michael Medved Show with conservative talk radio host Michael Medved.

In addition to discussing current opposition to President Obama, how Bush will handle rivals in his own party, where Bush stands on education and poverty, and whether or not Bush can connect with “everyday people,” Medved also asked Bush what he thinks has been the “best part of the Obama administration.”

“I would say the best part of the Obama administration would be his continuance of the protections of the homeland using the big metadata programs, the NSA being enhanced,” Bush said. “Advancing this — even though he never defends it, even though he never openly admits it, there has been a continuation of a very important service, which is the first obligation, I think of our national government is to keep us safe. And the technologies that now can be applied to make that so, while protecting civil liberties are there.”

Bush shared a similar sentiment during a speech at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Feb. 18. He defended the NSA’s massive surveillance program, calling it “hugely important” in the United States’ long-term battle against terrorism, and saying that it was necessary to “protect our civil liberties,” and to “keep us safe.”

Writing for The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald noted that the notion of bipartisanship being impossible to achieve is “one of the most glaring myths propagated by Washington,” and that in reality, “from trade deals to Wall Street bailouts to a massive National Security and Penal State, the two parties are in full agreement on the bulk of the most significant D.C. policies.”

While Bush agrees with Obama’s enhancement of the NSA’s spying program, his views differ drastically from his GOP rival, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), who announced that he was running for President on April 7.

During a speech in New Hampshire on April 8, Paul condemned the NSA’s massive data collection, and vowed that if elected as President in 2016, he would end the program “on day one.”

“Warrantless searches of Americans phone records and computer records, are un-American and a threat to our civil liberties,” Paul said. “I say that your phone records are yours. I say the phone records of law-abiding citizens are none of their damn business. The president created this vast dragnet by executive order. As President, on day one I will immediately end this unconstitutional program.”

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