Another record number of warrants for secret spy court

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON - The nation's spy court approved a record number of requests to search or eavesdrop on suspected terrorists and spies last year, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved 2,370 warrants last year targeting people in the United States believed to be linked to international terror organizations.

That figure represents a 9 percent increase over 2006. The number of warrants has more than doubled since the terrorist attacks of 2001.

The secret intelligence court was established in 1978 to oversee government requests to conduct surveillance on suspected spies inside the U.S.

The court denied three warrant applications in full and partially denied one, the Justice Department said. Eighty-six times judges sent requests back to the government for changes before approving them.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080501/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/domestic_spying;_

[Demeter]

1. The US Is Overrun With Paranoia, Not With Terrorists or Spies

When BushCo is destroying the country from the inside out, and the whole world knows it, why would anybody waste their time and money coming over here to try to incite a disaster?

We've got our home-grown Good Ole Boy doing the job for terrorists with the help of his Puppetmaster Darth and the amazing spineless Congress.

[rurallib]

2. secret court, secret judges, secret warrants

I am still amazed that wasn't enough for bushco.

[struggle4progress]

4. It's out of control

[Nitrogenica]

3. I'm sure the DNC is on the list.

[Kaleko]

5. Let me get this straight -

we're living in a state of undeclared martial law, two minutes away from an overt police state,
and Democrats by the millions want to vote for Hillary Clinton, who is a well-oiled cog in the machine that grinds us deeper into wage slavery...

Beats any horror flick I've seen.

[acmavm]

6. 'suspected terrorists and spies'

Right.

[maddezmom]

7. New Report Confirms Unprecedented Expansion Of Government Spying (5/1/2008)

New Report Confirms Unprecedented Expansion Of Government Spying (5/1/2008)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: [phone] or 549-2666; [e-mail]

NEW YORK – A newly released Justice Department report shows an unprecedented expansion of the government's use of secret warrants for domestic spying. According to the report, the number of secret warrants approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) more than doubled in the past seven years. The court approved 2,370 requests last year, compared to 1,012 in 2000.

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:

"Since Congress enacted the Patriot Act, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of warrants issued by the secret intelligence court. The number has gone up every year since 2001 – even while the administration authorized the National Security Agency to set up a parallel surveillance program to monitor Americans' phone calls without the oversight of the secret court. The ever-increasing reach of government surveillance should be disturbing to anyone committed to constitutional values. Pervasive surveillance, besides eroding the right to privacy, deters innocent people from participating in the political process and from exercising their freedoms of speech, association, and religion. It has a chilling effect on activity that is absolutely necessary to any democracy."

Congress is currently discussing far-reaching and unconstitutional updates to FISA, a move the ACLU adamantly opposes. The Bush administration is playing a large role in negotiations and is pushing once again for immunity for telecommunications companies involved in warrantless wiretapping. The ACLU is urging Congress to stand firm and not pass any bill that violates Fourth Amendment rights or deprives Americans of meaningful judicial review.


http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/35113prs20080501.html