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Bush Signs Spy Bill and Draws Lawsuit

By Randall Mikkelsen,
Reuters
Posted: 2008-07-10 21:15:32
Filed Under: Law News, Nation News
WASHINGTON (July 10) - President Bush signed a law on Thursday overhauling the rules for eavesdropping on terrorism suspects but immediately met a civil liberties challenge calling it a threat to Americans' privacy.

"This law will protect the liberties of our citizens while maintaining the vital flow of intelligence," Bush said at a White House ceremony to mark a rare legislative victory for the president during his last year in office.

President Bush signs surveillance bill
Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Surrounded by members of Congress in the White House Rose Garden, President Bush signs a bill that authorizes eavesdropping on terrorism suspects without warrants.


The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Manhattan federal court as Bush signed the measure and called for the law to be voided as a violation of constitutional speech and privacy protections.

"Spying on Americans without warrants or judicial approval is an abuse of government power, and that's exactly what this law allows," ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said in announcing the suit.

The action was filed on behalf of human-rights groups, journalists, labor organizations and others who say they fear the law will allow the U.S. government to monitor their activities, including compiling of critical reports on the United States.

Bush quickly signed the bill a day after Congress gave it final approval, with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama dropping earlier opposition to vote for passage. Obama's Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, has supported the bill but was absent for Wednesday's vote.

The bill authorizes U.S. intelligence agencies to eavesdrop without court approval on foreign targets believed to be outside the United States.

The administration says the measure will allow it to swiftly track terrorists. But the suit charges the law permits warrantless surveillance of phone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens who may have legal and legitimate reasons for contacting people targeted by government spying.

The bill seeks to minimize such eavesdropping on Americans, but the suit says the safeguards are inadequate.

The law lets government "conduct intrusive surveillance without ever telling a court who it intends to surveil, what phone lines and e-mail addresses it intends to monitor, where its surveillance targets are located, or why it's conducting the surveillance," said ACLU National Security Director Jameel Jaffer, the lead attorney in the suit.

The most contentious issue in negotiations over the bill was a provision that grants liability protection to telecommunication companies that took part in a warrantless domestic spying program Bush began after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The law shields those firms from billions of dollars in potential damages from privacy lawsuits.

McCain criticized Obama's vote in favor of the law as an inconsistency, and ACLU Legislative Director Caroline Fredrickson called it "very disappointing."

The Democrat's campaign had earlier said he would support efforts to block legislation with a telecommunications immunity provision, but Obama voted for the overall bill Bush signed after casting a losing vote to strip the immunity provision.

"Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise," Obama said on his campaign Web site.

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-07-10 20:45:19
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pootiepootay 04:24:56 PM Jul 16 2008

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maybe you should get on your little crotch rocket gook bike and get our of town.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~kawasaki7744 09:38:13 PM Jul 12 2008 MONTANALONEWOLF, GET BACK ON YOUR PROZAC YOU LEFT WING IDIOT!

sunsethighway 01:44:33 AM Jul 13 2008

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Send the ACLU a Christmas Card.

kawasaki7744 09:38:13 PM Jul 12 2008

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MONTANALONEWOLF, GET BACK ON YOUR PROZAC YOU LEFT WING IDIOT!

kawasaki7744 09:33:33 PM Jul 12 2008

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ACLU=ALL CRAZY LEFTWING IDIOTS UNBOUND!

bevkins77 09:25:47 PM Jul 12 2008

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Why is it 98% of the time I can't post a reply on these boards but there are hundreds of solicitors that can?

chiefskc01 03:34:50 PM Jul 12 2008

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I THINK THE ACLU HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE, THATS WHY THEY ARE SO WORRIED

newjeff121 12:54:02 PM Jul 12 2008

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Someone should have explained to Bush that the phrase - execute the Office of the President of The United States - means something different than what he thought when he took the oath.

montanalonewolf 08:20:21 AM Jul 12 2008

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bern1207 06:32:42 PM Jul 11 2008 If the law keeps me safe, thats all I need to know. ******************************************************************************************************* "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin, February 17, 1755 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

montanalonewolf 08:17:01 AM Jul 12 2008

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martylenders 01:15:51 AM Jul 12 2008 Only those with something to hide need worry.... *********************************************************************************************************** Those of you who approve of such governmental actions in the name of security deserve exactly what you'll eventually get.... a knock on the door in the middle of the night because someone you angered reported you for suspicious activities. Even though you've done nothing wrong, without judicial oversight, any of us CAN be picked up for no legitimate reason.

martylenders 01:15:51 AM Jul 12 2008

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Only those with something to hide need worry....

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