ACLU renews plea for release of secret court records
on Sep 14, 2007 at 10:34 pm
The American Civil Liberties Union, arguing that the federal government is abusing its power to classify information and is attempting to establish a regime of “secret law,” on Friday urged the special federal court that oversees electronic eavesdropping done inside the U.S. to release documents about how much surveillance it is currently allowing.
In a brief replying to the government’s oppostion to the release of any of the information, the ACLU contended that the Court has clear authority on its own to release at least censored versions of its surveillance-authorizing orders, and government legal briefs asking for the authority. (The brief can be found here.)
In an unprecedented move, the progressive advocacy organization moved for public release of at least some parts of those documents, saying there is a serious public debate now going on — and consideration in Congress — on how much wiretapping authority the government should have when it taps telephone calls and e-mails that may be routed through electronic links inside the U.S., in search of finding individuals talking to foreign terrorist suspects. The government strenuously resisted, contending that it would endanger national security to release any of the documents. The government also contended that the Executive Branch, alone, can decide when to declassify material for public release.
The ACLU’s reply brief argues that its requests are modest in scope, and would not involve any individual wiretap authorizations but only the orders and legal briefs outlining the scope to conduct surveillance that reaches inside this country.
