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President Carter Supports ACLU And NACDL Guantánamo Defense Project
NEW YORK – Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement in support of the American Civil Liberties Union's John Adams Project, a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) that provides civilian legal teams to assist under-resourced military counsel of Guantánamo detainees who have been charged in the military commissions.

ACLU Testifies Today Asking Congress To Narrow Scope Of State Secrets Privilege
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union testified today about the improper use of the state secrets privilege at a hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. The hearing was held to discuss legislation introduced by the subcommittee’s chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), entitled the “State Secrets Protection Act of 2008” (H.R.5607). The bill would narrow the scope of the privilege by setting appropriate limits on its use.

ACLU Skeptical of Intelligence Overhaul
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed concern regarding significant new changes made to a previously existing executive order governing the intelligence activities of a multitude of US government agencies, including the FBI, CIA, Defense Department and National Security Agency (NSA). President Bush signed amendments to Executive Order 12333 last night before informing Congress of the changes. The ACLU applauded members of the House Intelligence Committee who walked out of a briefing today in protest of their lack of involvement in drafting the language.

Fusion Centers Part of Incipient Domestic Intelligence System, ACLU Warns
WASHINGTON – The nation’s growing network of “fusion centers” is part of an incipient de facto domestic intelligence system, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Today the ACLU released a report detailing spying on Maryland peace demonstrators, a mysterious domestic-spying scandal at a California military base and other recent incidents, confirming that its warnings about fusion centers were coming true.

Congress Should Demand Answers from Attorney General
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union urges the House Judiciary Committee to demand accountability from Attorney General Michael Mukasey during the Department of Justice oversight hearing scheduled for today.

Mukasey Calls On Congress to Subvert Constitution
WASHINGTON, DC – In an enormous executive branch power grab, Attorney General Michael Mukasey called on Congress today to authorize indefinite detention through a new declaration of armed conflict. Mukasey also proposed that Congress subvert the right of habeas corpus with a new scheme of procedures that will hide the Bush administration’s past wrongdoing – an action that would undermine the constitutional guarantee of due process and conceal systematic torture and abuse of detainees.

ACLU Seeks Answers on Torture from Former Attorney General Ashcroft
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union calls on former Attorney General John Ashcroft, in today’s House Judiciary hearing, to provide Congress and the American people with answers to questions about when, why and how the use of torture was authorized. Ashcroft presided over the Department of Justice (DOJ) during President Bush’s first term in office, when the legal rationale for using torture and abuse during interrogations of detainees held by the United States was first articulated in a series of legal memos. The notorious memos, known as the “torture memos,” were produced by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), a DOJ office that assists the attorney general in his function as legal advisor to the president and all executive branch agencies.

ACLU Skeptical of Senate Hearing on “Homegrown” Terrorism
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union urges the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to avoid suggesting that Americans of a certain religion or ethnicity have a greater proclivity for “homegrown terrorism.” Tomorrow the committee conducts a hearing on, “Islamist Extremism and Efforts to Counter It.” Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office said, “Making certain people, simply because of their religious beliefs and backgrounds, terror suspects is a grave national security mistake. We risk real harm to core civil rights and raise the risks of violent attacks by ignoring the Timothy McVeighs and Ted Kaczynskis who seek to do us harm.”

ACLU At Guantánamo This Week For Hearings On Detainees' Legal Representation
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantánamo this week for hearings to determine whether any of the detainees accused of 9/11-related crimes were coerced by fellow detainees into rejecting direct legal representation at their June 5 arraignment.

ACLU Thanks Senators Who Stood for the Constitution
Washington, DC – After a brutal loss on the FISA Amendments Act today in the Senate, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed gratitude to the senators who cast their vote against the bill.

Senate Passes Unconstitutional Spying Bill And Grants Sweeping Immunity To Phone Companies
WASHINGTON – Today, in a blatant assault upon civil liberties and the right to privacy, the Senate passed an unconstitutional domestic spying bill that violates the Fourth Amendment and eliminates any meaningful role for judicial oversight of government surveillance. The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 was approved by a vote of 69 to 28 and is expected to be signed into law by President Bush shortly. This bill essentially legalizes the president’s unlawful warrantless wiretapping program revealed in December 2005 by the New York Times.

ACLU Urges Senators to Oppose Unconstitutional Surveillance Bill
Washington, DC – With the Senate debate continuing and a vote expected on the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 this Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union once again urged senators to vote against the unconstitutional bill, which will allow the government to monitor calls and emails without a warrant and without meaningful court review.

ACLU Commends House Judiciary Subcommittee for Continued Investigation into Whether High-Level Officials Authorized Torture
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union commends Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties for their continued efforts to uncover the full extent of this administration’s approval of torture in the interrogation of detainees. Tomorrow’s hearing is the last in a series of three held by the subcommittee on torture, and the first time both David Addington, chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, and John Yoo, formerly of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), are scheduled to testify before Congress on their roles in approving the use of torture. An important focus of the series of hearings has been whether high-level government officials violated federal criminal laws against torture and abuse.

ACLU Challenges Government's Ban On Renowned South African Scholar In Federal Court Today
BOSTON – Today in federal court, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Massachusetts challenged the government's refusal to grant a visa to respected South African scholar Adam Habib. Last fall, the State Department refused Habib a visa after months of inaction, claiming that he is barred because he has "engaged in terrorist activities," but the government failed to explain the basis for its inflammatory accusation, let alone provide a single piece of evidence to prove it.

ACLU Applauds Committee Passage of National Security Letter Reform
Washington, DC – Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties approved legislation that would greatly reduce the scope of the National Security Letter (NSL) statute. NSLs are secret government requests for information that are used to collect private records without judicial oversight. The FBI’s gross misuse and abuse of the NSL statute has led to consecutive and embarrassing reports issued by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General. In March, a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the ACLU also uncovered abuses of the NSL statute by the Department of Defense.

House Approves Unconstitutional Surveillance Legislation
Washington, DC – Following a vote in the House of Representatives sanctioning warrantless wiretapping and handing immunity to telecommunications companies for their role in domestic spying, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at representatives who voted for the unconstitutional legislation. The bill, H.R. 6304, or The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed the chamber by a vote of 293-129, and is expected to be voted on in the Senate next week.

ACLU Condemns FISA Deal, Declares Surveillance Bill Unconstitutional
Washington, DC – With news that a surveillance bill may be voted on in the House of Representatives as early as tomorrow, the American Civil Liberties Union sternly warned members against voting for the legislation. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has worked closely with the White House and has led the effort to gut the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and give the telephone companies what amounts to a pardon for breaking the law.

ACLU Says No Deal on an Unconstitutional FISA Compromise
Washington, DC – As news continues to trickle down from Capitol Hill regarding a deal on surveillance legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union once again voiced its fervent opposition to any attempt to undercut the Fourth Amendment or allow the telecommunications companies to gain blanket immunity for illegal spying. Before the Memorial Day recess the ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO) floated what he claims is a compromise on surveillance legislation that will allow for sham court proceedings, virtually guaranteeing immunity to telecommunications companies. The ACLU strongly opposes this unconstitutional proposal.

ACLU Praises Adoption of Amendment Requiring Video Recording of Interrogations
WASHINGTON, DC - The American Civil Liberties Union praises last night's House of Representatives floor vote that adopted, by a margin of 218-192 (including 15 Republicans) the Holt/Tauscher/Grijalva/Schakowsky Amendment to the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment requires the recording and retention of videos of strategic interrogations of persons under the custody or control of the Defense Department. The amendment would bring these interrogations into line with recommended best practices for military and law enforcement interrogations - increasing accountability for compliance with the McCain Anti-Torture Amendment and other anti-torture laws.