Domestic Spying Lawsuit Targets Bush, Cheney, NSA

[Hissyspit]

Source: Raw Story

Domestic spying lawsuit targets Bush, Cheney, NSA
Nick Juliano
Published: Thursday September 18, 2008

Privacy advocates are trying to shut down the US government's "shadow network of surveillance devices" used to spy on its citizens with a lawsuit aimed at President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, the National Security Agency and dozens of current and former government officials. Plaintiffs who had been pursuing a suit against AT&T have shifted their focus to the government officials to circumvent Congress's grant of immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in Bush's warrantless wiretapping program. A class action lawsuit was filed Thursday by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is continuing to pursue its case against AT&T.

"Today we've opened a second front in our battle to stop the NSA's illegal surveillance," EFF attorney Kevin Bankston told reporters during a conference call Thursday.

Based on news reports and information it obtained from former AT&T employee Mark Kline, EFF alleges a massive surveillance apparatus has been trained on Americans to vacuum up information on virtually every telephone call, e-mail and Internet search to feed a massive database maintained by the NSA.

- snip -

The lawsuit outlines 17 counts including alleged violations of the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and other laws. Other defendants targeted by the suit include former White House counsel and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former NSA director and current CIA director Michael Hayden, Cheney chief of staff David Addington, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte and up to 100 additional unnamed government or private sector officials who participated in the surveillance. Bankston said the lawsuit's aim is to "obtain personal accountability from the architects" of the warrantless surveillance and to say to future government officials, "If you break the law and violate people's privacy, there will be consequences."

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Domestic_spying_lawsuit_targets_Bush_Cheney_0918.html

[ixion]

1. bring on the lawsuits.. then it's off to the war crimes tribunals...

and then the Hague, if there's any justice.

[flayellowdog]

2. It's about time...

Make ready the Guillotine. Off with their heads!!:mad:

[tpsbmam]

3. The EFF

has done great work on this issue and has been dogged. I hope if there's anyone left here who hasn't contributed and actually has $10 sitting around unused in this economy will contribute to help their effort.

[Trillo]

4. I'm reminded of the advice given so many times by police about street drug dealers

back in the 80s and 90s in multiple media outlets: as soon as one is gone, there are a hundred or more jockeying to take their place.

Perhaps they were simply projecting their boss's own modus operandi.

[Deny and Shred]

5. I hope it goes someplace. Such obvious criminality.

I doubt it though. Not too many messages here either. I do hope domestic surveillance is investigated more than almost any other issue, but it pains me to see it so back-burner.

The TelCos were asked to set this apparatus up 6 months BEFORE 9/11.

The night before the Senate vote OKing immunity, Chris Dodd gave one of the best speeches I've ever heard outlining why immunity is such a bad idea. The next morning, all for naught.