National Security News

ACLU Statement on Ruling in Padilla v. Rumsfeld Appeal

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:40:00 -0500

Court Dismissed Case Seeking to Hold U.S. Officials Accountable for Torturing American Citizen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
 
NEW YORK – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today affirmed the dismissal of the American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit against current and former government officials for their roles in the unlawful detention and torture of U.S. citizen José Padilla. The U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina ruled in February that an American citizen designated an "enemy combatant" by the executive branch and tortured by government officials could not bring suit to vindicate his constitutional rights.
 
“Today is a sad day for the rule of law and for those who believe that the courts should protect American citizens from torture by their own government,” said ACLU National Security Project Litigation Director Ben Wizner, who argued the appeal in court. “By dismissing this lawsuit, the appeals court handed the government a blank check to commit any abuse in the name of national security, even the brutal torture of a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil. This impunity is not only anathema to a democracy governed by laws, but contrary to history’s lesson that in times of fear our values are a strength, not a hindrance.”
 
More information and case documents are available at:
www.aclu.org/national-security/padilla-v-rumsfeld

ACLU Attorneys Cleared of Any Wrongdoing in Guantánamo Photograph Investigation

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:14:00 -0500

Former CIA Officer, John Kiriakou, Charged With Disclosing Classified Information to Journalists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – In a Criminal Complaint filed earlier today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) in the Northern District of Virginia, former CIA officer John Kiriakou was charged with disclosing classified information to journalists and lying to the CIA’s Publications Review Board. The investigation also examined the discovery in 2009 of photographs of government employees and contractors in Guantánamo Bay cells of detainees. The investigation concludes that no member of the defense team did anything wrong.  This includes defense lawyers and others who were part of the ACLU’s John Adams Project.

“While we are gratified that DoJ has confirmed what we already knew -- that the ACLU is clear of any wrongdoing in our defense of detainees' rights at Guantánamo -- it is astonishing that our conduct was under review in the first place," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said. "Throughout our 92-year history, ACLU lawyers have been above reproach, and today's findings by the DoJ underscore that tradition.  Not even J. Edgar Hoover or President George W. Bush investigated the ACLU's activities. However, it remains troubling that the government has failed to indict the CIA agents who participated in torture and who have thus far not been held accountable for these atrocities.”

The John Adams Project was started in April 2008 by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in response to the military commissions set up by the Bush administration for the men imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay. The project’s goal was to assemble defense teams to be available to assist in the representation of those Guantánamo detainees who had been charged under the Military Commissions Act, subject to the detainees' consent. More than 30 lawyers agreed to work on the project.  Some of those lawyers have since been appointed by the Convening Authority of the military commissions to continue the representation of the detainees, including those charged with the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole.

Guantánamo Chief Military Defense Lawyer Orders His Attorneys Not to Agree to Communication Monitoring

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:41:00 -0500

Citing Attorney-Client Privilege, Col. J.P. Colwell Tells Military Lawyers That Following New Prison Rules Would Be Unethical

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – The top defense lawyer for the Guantánamo military commission system has ordered the attorneys under his command not to comply with rules issued by the Guantánamo prison chief that require Defense Department screening of all written materials lawyers want to send to their clients.

In an email sent Sunday and obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, Marine Col. J.P. Colwell, the chief military defense counsel for the commissions, informed all military commission defense lawyers that they were ethically obligated to refuse to follow the rules, which were issued last month. The email is available on the ACLU website:

www.aclu.org/files/assets/colwell_email_on_attorney-client_communication_monitoring_at_guantanamo.pdf

“Col. Colwell joins an honorable line of Guantánamo military lawyers who have opposed superiors’ attempts, ostensibly in the name of security, to undermine longstanding rules necessary for a fair trial,” said Zachary Katznelson, senior staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. “In seeking to force military defense counsel to cast aside their professional ethical obligations of client confidentiality, the new rules fly in the face of American justice and tradition. Once again, the government’s actions show exactly why these cases need to be in federal court where the rules are established, fair and effective.”

Guantánamo’s commander, Navy Rear Adm. David Woods, issued the rules on monitoring legal communications on Dec. 27. Under the rules, any information provided by lawyers that military censors found objectionable, such as communications about U.S. personnel who tortured the prisoners, could be kept from the prisoner and brought to the attention of the base commander. This would eliminate attorney-client privilege.

The new prison rules say that defense attorneys must agree in writing to the monitoring as a condition of communication with their clients. In his email, Colwell told military commission defense lawyers that they should not sign the monitoring agreement, and if they already had signed, then they should immediately withdraw from the agreement. Citing the ethics codes that govern every branch of the military, Colwell wrote that following the agreement and revealing such information would be “in violation” of rules for professional conduct.

The rules on communication monitoring issued by Guantánamo’s commander are available at:

www.aclu.org/national-security/orders-governing-logistics-defense-counsel-access-and-written-communications

More information on Guantánamo is available at:

www.aclu.org/close-guantanamo

President Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Bill Into Law

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:26:00 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law today. The statute contains a sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provision.  While President Obama issued a signing statement saying he had “serious reservations” about the provisions, the statement only applies to how his administration would use the authorities granted by the NDAA, and would not affect how the law is interpreted by subsequent administrations.  The White House had threatened to veto an earlier version of the NDAA, but reversed course shortly before Congress voted on the final bill.

“President Obama's action today is a blight on his legacy because he will forever be known as the president who signed indefinite detention without charge or trial into law,” said Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director. “The statute is particularly dangerous because it has no temporal or geographic limitations, and can be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield.  The ACLU will fight worldwide detention authority wherever we can, be it in court, in Congress, or internationally.”

Under the Bush administration, similar claims of worldwide detention authority were used to hold even a U.S. citizen detained on U.S. soil in military custody, and many in Congress now assert that the NDAA should be used in the same way again. The ACLU believes that any military detention of American citizens or others within the United States is unconstitutional and illegal, including under the NDAA. In addition, the breadth of the NDAA’s detention authority violates international law because it is not limited to people captured in the context of an actual armed conflict as required by the laws of war.

“We are incredibly disappointed that President Obama signed this new law even though his administration had already claimed overly broad detention authority in court,” said Romero. “Any hope that the Obama administration would roll back the constitutional excesses of George Bush in the war on terror was extinguished today. Thankfully, we have three branches of government, and the final word belongs to the Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the scope of detention authority. But Congress and the president also have a role to play in cleaning up the mess they have created because no American citizen or anyone else should live in fear of this or any future president misusing the NDAA’s detention authority.”

The bill also contains provisions making it difficult to transfer suspects out of military detention, which prompted FBI Director Robert Mueller to testify that it could jeopardize criminal investigations.  It also restricts the transfers of cleared detainees from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries for resettlement or repatriation, making it more difficult to close Guantanamo, as President Obama pledged to do in one of his first acts in office.

White House Announces Nominees to Fill Civil Liberties Board

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 15, 2011 CONTACT: (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org WASHINGTON – The White House today announced it will present a full slate of nominees for the long-dormant Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). The board has been vacant since it was reconstituted in 2007 by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act. The ACLU has repeatedly called for nominations to the board and issued a report on the need for increased powers for the PCLOB in a 2009 report. “The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has been obstructed for far too long. Today’s announcement is a promising first step toward improving the oversight of our government’s counterterrorism activities,” said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “We hope it can soon begin the difficult task of attempting to oversee the sprawling and out-of-control U.S. intelligence establishment.” To read the ACLU’s report on the PCLOB, go to: http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/enforcing-privacy-building-american-institutions-protect-privacy-face-new-tec  [...]

Senate Passes Bill Opening Door to Indefinite Detention

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Controversial Defense Bill to be Signed by President Obama

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – Following the House’s passage of the bill last night, the Senate today passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill contains a sweeping worldwide indefinite detention provision that leading members of Congress support using to indefinitely detain without charge or trial even American citizens and others picked up in the United States itself. The bill will now go to the president’s desk for signature.

Though President Obama had threatened to veto an earlier version of the NDAA, he has reversed his position and has signaled he will sign the bill.

“President Obama still has time to reconsider his decision to sign this dangerous bill into law,” said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. “We encourage the president to seriously consider what it will mean for America, for the first time since the McCarthy era, to enshrine indefinite detention without charge or trial right into the statute books.”

White House Backs Away from Defense Bill Veto Threat

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:09:00 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org WASHINGTON – The White House today announced that it will support passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains harmful provisions that some legislators have said could authorize the U.S. military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians, including American citizens, anywhere in the world. The final version of the NDAA was agreed to earlier this week by House and Senate conferees. Though Obama administration had threatened to veto a previous version of the bill based on these provisions, it has reversed its position. The House is expected to pass the bill tonight and Senate will vote soon after. “The president should more carefully consider the consequences of allowing this bill to become law,” Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “If President Obama signs this bill, it will damage both his legacy and American’s reputation for upholding the rule of law. The last time Congress passed indefinite detention legislation was during the McCarthy era and President Truman had the courage to veto that bill. We hope that the president will consider the long view of history before codifying indefinite detention without charge or trial.”  [...]

Senate Poised to Pass Indefinite Detention Without Charge or Trial

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:14:00 -0500

Bill Will Further Expose American Citizens and Others to Military Imprisonment Based on Suspicion and Not Conviction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2011

CONTACT: Mandy Simon, (202) 675-2312; media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON - The Senate is poised to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, with an extraordinary expansion and statutory bolstering of authority for the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians, including American citizens, anywhere in the world. A last-minute amendment was negotiated between Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) that passed, but does not prohibit its application to American citizens or others in the United States.

Additional amendments offered by Sens. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Feinstein to strike and limit the detention power were defeated despite strong showings of support.

The Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the FBI, the Director of the CIA and the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the NDAA are harmful and counterproductive to their work. The White House has issued a veto threat over the provisions.

"The bill is an historic threat to American citizens and others because it expands and makes permanent the authority of the president to order the military to imprison without charge or trial American citizens," said Christopher Anders, ACLU senior legislative counsel. "The final amendment to preserve current detention restrictions could turn out to be meaningless and Senators Levin and Graham made clear that they believe this power to use the military against American citizens will not be affected by the new language. This bill puts military detention authority on steroids and makes it permanent. If it becomes law, American citizens and others are at real risk of being locked away by the military without charge or trial.

"Given that the House version of the legislation is already very troubling, the final House-Senate negotiated bill will likely be even worse.  Unless Congress somehow comes to its senses, President Obama should get his veto pen ready."

FOIA Documents Show FBI Illegally Collecting Intelligence Under Guise of "Community Outreach"

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:03:00 -0500

FBI Storing Information on Activities Protected by the First Amendment, Memos Obtained by ACLU Show FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org NEW YORK – The FBI has been illegally using its community outreach programs to secretly collect and store information about activities protected by the First Amendment for intelligence purposes, according to FBI documents released today by the American Civil Liberties Union. “The trust that community outreach efforts aim to create is undermined when the FBI exploits these programs to gather intelligence on the very members of the religious and community organizations agents are meeting with,” said Michael German, ACLU senior policy counsel and a former FBI agent. “The FBI should be honest with community organizations about what information is being collected during meetings and purge any improperly collected information.” FOIA documents showing instances of inappropriate intelligence gathering include: • San Francisco FBI memos, written in 2007 and 2008 by agents who attended Ramadan Iftar dinners under the guise of the FBI’s mosque outreach program, documenting participants’ names, conversations and presentations. The 2008 memo also recorded participants’ contact information and descriptions of their opinions and associations. • A 2009 San Jose, Calif. FBI memo describing FBI participation in a career day sponsored by an Assyrian community organization. Agents detailed conversations with three community leaders and members about their opinions, backgrounds and charitable activities. • A 2007 San Jose, Calif. FBI memo describing a mosque outreach meeting attended by 50 people representing 27 Muslim community and religious organizations, identifying each person by name and organization and analyzing their “demographics.” “Except under certain special circumstances, the Privacy Act bars the FBI from maintaining records like these describing how Americans exercise their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association,” said Nusrat Choudhury, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. “Congress passed this law to prevent records obtained by the government for one purpose from being used for another reason without a person’s consent, but that is precisely what the FBI has done.” There is no indication in the FOIA documents that community members were informed that the FBI’s outreach activities were used for intelligence gathering purposes or could be potentially used to target these people and their organizations for investigations. One of the organizations whose members were noted attending the mosque outreach meeting was the Muslim Community Association (MCA). “Like all Americans, we want to help the FBI. Now we feel betrayed,” said MCA Board Secretary Isa Shaw. “We support the idea of building trust through FBI community outreach programs, but the government should not be taking advantage of it to violate our First Amendment rights like this.” The ACLU is calling on the Department of Justice Inspector General to investigate Privacy Act violations in the FBI’s San Francisco and Sacramento Divisions and to initiate a broader audit of FBI practices nationwide. It is also urging the FBI to stop using community outreach for intelligence purposes, to be honest with community organizations regarding what information is collected and retained during community outreach meetings and to purge all improperly collected information. The request for these documents was made by the ACLU of Northern California, the Asian Law Caucus and the San Francisco Bay Guardian. A detailed description of examples (with links to FOIA documents) showing the FBI's improper collection of information at community [...]

ACLU Urges House Judiciary Committee to Consider the End Racial Profiling Act

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:27:00 -0400

Discrimination in Law Enforcement Must End

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

WASHINGTON – Racial profiling is something many Americans deal with on a regular basis that Congress should end by passing the End Racial Profiling Act. The House Judiciary Committee is hearing testimony today as a first step in that process.

“Before there was even a name for it, racial profiling has been engrained in our country’s law enforcement practices,” said Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “But racial profiling not only goes against our Constitution and our country’s value for equality – it also hinders law enforcement officials from doing their job.”

The legislation, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate on Oct. 6, is also expected to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives following the House Judiciary Committee today. ERPA would prevent law enforcement from subjecting a person to heightened scrutiny based on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin, except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, that links a person of a particular race, ethnicity, national origin or religion to an identified criminal incident or scheme.

In addition to defining and explicitly prohibiting racial profiling, ERPA will mandate racial profiling training and data collection, authorize the grants for the development and implementation of best policing practices and require periodic reports from the attorney general on any continuing discriminatory practices.

It a statement to the committee, the ACLU asked Congress to pass ERPA. The statement provided examples of racial profiling in a variety of contexts, including historic racism against African-Americans in community and drug enforcement, the post-9/11 intelligence gathering and racial mapping particularly of Arab Muslims and South Asians and the profiling of Latinos, Asians and other people of color in the context of immigration and border enforcement.

The ACLU Washington Legislative Office recently held a policy discussion to draw attention to problem of racial profiling, To view the discussion, which included Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), visit http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/video-three-faces-racial-profiling-pa...

 

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