Stop FISA in its Tracks!

Written by: David Reiter on Jul 5, 2008 11:10 AM EDT

I ususally don't like reposting something I have posted in the past, but this issue keep rearing its ugly head, like a monstrous zit on the face of democracy.  As we join in with thousands of members and concerned citizens in writing, calling, and e-mailing our Senators ahead of this weeks vote for telecom immunity, I thought I would help arm us all with some vital information...again.

First, I'd like to thank Federal Judge, Vaughn Walker for correctly striking down Bush's claim of authority to spy on Americans.  I have not seen his official opinion, but it appears he has correctly cited a precedent set in 1972 (noted below).  Although this is a positive step in correcting illegal behavior by our Commander-In-Chief, it may protect those that abet him in this illegal activity--telephone companies.

The history behind citizen wiretapping is sickening. In the 1960’s and ‘70’s the FBI was wiretapping everyone from Martin Luther King, Jr. to New Left organizations that led to usurping the American peoples’ right to organize and redress the government of their grievances.

What is disturbing is to think that this right wing government is using the acquired information to further its political agenda and get the upper hand with its opponents.  As we know, the Nixon Administration severely abused his powers, and ultimately culminated in the Watergate break-into democratic headquarters (unrelated to his misuse of intelligence agencies). The President is pushing to make the Patriot Act permanent after he has already admitted to abusing its provisions by sidestepping the FISA court in order to direct the NSA to spy on citizens.  There is no doubt that Mr. Bush sees all those that are not for his policies must be against…and it is this philosophy that scares Americans most.  This philosophy generally lends one to believe that the 67% of Americans that are against his policies are subject to potential surveillance.  Common sense however, tells us otherwise.   

The President says he has the constitutional authority to conduct warrantless surveillance.  The Supreme Court, in the famous United States vs. United States District Court case of 1972, clearly stated that, “The President does not have the constitutional power to authorize warrantless electronic surveillance.”

Waste of Resources

What worries me most about his cavalier surveillance of political groups and selected citizens is that he is wasting intelligence resources on things that are ultimately not protecting our nation.  During the Vietnam war, domestic surveillance was a common practice.  The FBI had everyone from Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Panthers, and anti-war groups to local PTA meetings, women’s sewing clubs, and even a Halloween party with suspected anti-war activists under surveillance.  In addition to surveillance, the FBI was directed to ‘disrupt and otherwise neutralize’ the efforts of certain anti-war and pro-racial integration groups. Not only were all of these actions unconstitutional, but they were addressed by the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1976, and reforms were immediately mandated.

The reforms the Committee made were not only to ensure the privacy of American citizens, but also to ensure that the government did not waste valuable resources on constitutionally legal activities.  The Committee ultimately concluded that this infiltration of the American way of life and legal dissent weakened our national security. They felt that the shear mass of information gathered that needed sifting and analysis made it almost impossible to discern real threats to our security.

The 94th Congress, report number 94-755 clearly addresses many of the issues we are dealing with today in regards to violating Americans’ rights in the name of national security.These are the hearings that led to FISA.

Below are just a few excerpts of some findings from the report on ‘Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans Final Report of the Select Committee To Study Governmental Operations with respect to Intelligence Activities.’

Military Intelligence: “Beginning in 1967, the Army Security Agency monitored the radio communications of amateur radio operators in this country to determine if dissident elements planned disruptive activity at particular demonstrations and events…At a meeting held in 1968, the FCC advised the Army that such monitoring was illegal under the Federal Communications Act of 1934…Despite having been told that their monitoring activity was illegal, and the Attorney General (Ramsey Clark) himself disapproved of it, the Army Security Agency continued to monitor the radio communications of American citizens for another two years.”

“The Army’s nationwide intelligence surveillance program created files on some 100,000 Americans and an equally large number of domestic organizations, encompassing nearly every group seeking peaceful change in the united States including:

-The John Birch Society;

-Young Americans For Freedom;

-the National Organization of Women;

-the NAACP;

-the Urban League;

-the Anti-Defamation League; and

Business Executives to End the War in Vietnam”

NSA: “In short, virtually every element of our society has been subjected to excessive government-ordered intelligence inquiries.  Opposition to government policy or the expression of controversial views was frequently considered sufficient for collecting data on Americans.  The Committee finds that this extreme breadth of intelligence activity is inconsistent with the principles of our Constitution which protect the rights of free speech, political activity, and privacy against unjustified government intrusion.”

Political Abuse:  “The Committee finds that information has been collected and disseminated in order to serve the purely political interests of an intelligence agenct or the administration, and to influence social policy and political action…The FBI’s ability to gather information without effective restraints gave it enormous power.  That power was inevitably attractive to politicians, who could use the information on opponents and critics for their own advantage, and was also an asset to the Bureau, which depended on politicians for support. In the political arena, as in other facets of American life touched by the intelligence community, the existence of unchecked power led to its abuse.”

House Majority Leader, Hale Boggs said, “Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of action for men in public life can be compromised quite as effectively by the fear of surveillance as by the fact of surveillance.”

“The FBI attempted to influence public opinion by supplying information or articles to ‘confidential sources’ in the news media.  The FBI…was responsible for covert liaisons with the media to advance two main domestic intelligence objectives: 1)Providing derogatory information to the media to generally discredit the activities or ideas of targeted groups or individuals; and 2)disseminating unfavorable articles, news releases, and background information in order to disrupt certain activities…-FBI headquarters solicited information from field offices ‘on a continuing basis’ for ‘prompt…dissemination to the news media…to discredit the New Left movement and its adherents.’  Headquarters requested among other things, that: ‘specific data should be furnished depicting the scurrilous and depraved nature of many of the characters, activities, habits, and living conditions representative of New Left adherents…Every avenue of possible embarrassment must be vigorously and enthusiastically explored.’”

Findings and Conclusions:  “Domestic Intelligence Activity has threatened and undermined the Constitutional Rights of Americans to free speech, association, and privacy. It has done so primarily because the constitutional system for checking abuse of power has not been applied.”

“The Committee finds that domestic intelligence activity has been overbroad in that 1)many Americans and domestic groups have been subjected to investigation who were not suspected of criminal activity and 2) the intelligence agencies have regularly collected information about personal and political activities irrelevant to any legitimate governmental interest…Intelligence agencies pursued a ‘vacuum cleaner’ approach to intelligence collection-drawing all available information about groups and individuals, including their lawful political activities and details of their personal lives.”

“..it is not at all clear that our hypothesis about foreign intentions, capabilities, and activities improve commensurately in scope as more data comes from modern collection methods…what matters most is the question of whether this quantity of information is degrading the quality of all our work.”

DReiter 05/06

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