I Thought This Administration Was Against Wiretaps?

[Annie]

Seems not:

Government opts for secrecy in wiretap suit

Government opts for secrecy in wiretap suit
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
(04-06) 15:26 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The Obama administration is again invoking government secrecy in defending the Bush administration's wiretapping program, this time against a lawsuit by AT&T customers who claim federal agents illegally intercepted their phone calls and gained access to their records.

Disclosure of the information sought by the customers, "which concerns how the United States seeks to detect and prevent terrorist attacks, would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security," Justice Department lawyers said in papers filed Friday in San Francisco.

Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a lawyer for the customers, said Monday the filing was disappointing in light of the Obama presidential campaign's "unceasing criticism of Bush-era secrecy and promise for more transparency."

In a 2006 lawsuit, the AT&T plaintiffs accused the company of allowing the National Security Agency to intercept calls and e-mails and inspect records of millions of customers without warrants or evidence of wrongdoing.

The suit followed President George W. Bush's acknowledgement in 2005 that he had secretly authorized the NSA in 2001 to monitor messages between U.S. residents and suspected foreign terrorists without seeking court approval, as required by a 1978 law....

 

[Xenophon]

Well, they find they like it now.

 

[Indiana Oracle]

Hopefully those who voted for The Prophet, weeping with enthusiasm and joy at the polling station, will step out of denial long enough to become pissed off. Am not holding my breath. Based on some UTube videos I have seen, Obi wan Kenobe could have used voice on them fairly easily. Which, to me, pretty much sums up today's situation nicely.

 

[Zoom-boing]

Yet another example of why people should ignore what he says and pay attention to what he does. Talk is cheap; it's what you do that counts.

 

[editec]

Well, they find they like it now.

The Obama admin is defending the actions Bush II admin here.

Odd that

Or..perhaps not so odd at all.

Like I kept telling yas', anything that we let the Bush II admin get away with would become STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE for the administrations which follow.

 

[Old Rocks]

Or just maybe they would like time to review what was found to make sure that National Security would not be compramised by the release of that information. It was not the wiretaps that were objected to, it was the failure to obtain warrents so that there could be a semblence of oversight. This is exactly the same situation that we had with Nixon spying on internal "enemies" throught the use of Federal Agencies. Illegal then, illegal now. And, if we find on further investigation that Bush used the power as Nixon did, then Bush should face felony charges.

 

[editec]

Plusible, I suppose.

But one does not need to release the TAPES themselves to release the information about the crime of wiretapping, does one?

 

[Old Rocks]

If the wiretaps were used as Nixon used them, then public release might jeoperdize the case against the felons. Even the fact that there were no warrants, no matter how justified the taping, is a criminal act.

 

[Xenophon]

Well, they find they like it now.

The Obama admin is defending the actions Bush II admin here.

Odd that

Or..perhaps not so odd at all.

Like I kept telling yas', anything that we let the Bush II admin get away with would become STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE for the administrations which follow.

You know i never supported the chimptoid, I knew his 'patriot act' and all the rest of it had unreal potential for misuse.

The lemmings voted for fear as they always do.

 

[rayboyusmc]

Wow, is it over two months now?


I guess that's all his rightie friends need to make their decisions.

Call back in six months.

 

[jillian]

Well, they find they like it now.

The Obama admin is defending the actions Bush II admin here.

Odd that

Or..perhaps not so odd at all.

Like I kept telling yas', anything that we let the Bush II admin get away with would become STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE for the administrations which follow.

You know i never supported the chimptoid, I knew his 'patriot act' and all the rest of it had unreal potential for misuse.

The lemmings voted for fear as they always do.

when they voted for Bush? Yes, they did.

That said, I'd like to know more about why they're defending this before I jump to the conclusion that Annie did.

 

[elvis]

Seems not:

Government opts for secrecy in wiretap suit

Government opts for secrecy in wiretap suit
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
(04-06) 15:26 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The Obama administration is again invoking government secrecy in defending the Bush administration's wiretapping program, this time against a lawsuit by AT&T customers who claim federal agents illegally intercepted their phone calls and gained access to their records.

Disclosure of the information sought by the customers, "which concerns how the United States seeks to detect and prevent terrorist attacks, would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security," Justice Department lawyers said in papers filed Friday in San Francisco.

Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a lawyer for the customers, said Monday the filing was disappointing in light of the Obama presidential campaign's "unceasing criticism of Bush-era secrecy and promise for more transparency."

In a 2006 lawsuit, the AT&T plaintiffs accused the company of allowing the National Security Agency to intercept calls and e-mails and inspect records of millions of customers without warrants or evidence of wrongdoing.

The suit followed President George W. Bush's acknowledgement in 2005 that he had secretly authorized the NSA in 2001 to monitor messages between U.S. residents and suspected foreign terrorists without seeking court approval, as required by a 1978 law....

what makes you think he was ever against wiretapping? He said he would filibuster Fisa, but instead he voted for it.

 

[jillian]

Maybe THIS, the part that was cut off, is part of the reason for the admin's position:

Walker is also considering a challenge to the surveillance program by the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a now-defunct charity that was inadvertently given a government document in 2004, reportedly showing that its lawyers had been wiretapped during an investigation that landed the group on the government's terrorist list.

The Obama administration is also opposing that suit and has challenged Walker's order to let Al-Haramain's lawyers examine the still-classified surveillance document.

 

[elvis]

Hopefully those who voted for The Prophet, weeping with enthusiasm and joy at the polling station, will step out of denial long enough to become pissed off. Am not holding my breath. Based on some UTube videos I have seen, Obi wan Kenobe could have used voice on them fairly easily. Which, to me, pretty much sums up today's situation nicely.

I don't know why they should be pissed off when he voted for fisa. At the risk of sounding like eots, the government doesn't give up power very easily once they have it.

 

[Indiana Oracle]

Elvis --
Agree but was referring to what The Prophet said on the campaign trail. My be missing what you are driving at..

 

[elvis]

Elvis --
Agree but was referring to what The Prophet said on the campaign trail. My be missing what you are driving at..

Just that his supporters shouldn't feel lied to, necessarily, because I believe that vote was during the primaries. they can feel pissed off, but not betrayed. just my opinion.

 

[Indiana Oracle]

Elvis --
Ok. See your point.

 

[auditor0007]

Well, they find they like it now.

The Obama admin is defending the actions Bush II admin here.

Odd that

Or..perhaps not so odd at all.

Like I kept telling yas', anything that we let the Bush II admin get away with would become STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE for the administrations which follow.

I said all along that Obama would keep this policy in place once he understood the need. In truth, he probably understood the need even while he was denouncing it to help his election bid.