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ACLU Testifies Today Asking Congress To Narrow Scope Of State Secrets Privilege (07/31/2008)
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.

Fusion Centers Part of Incipient Domestic Intelligence System, ACLU Warns (07/29/2008)
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.

ACLU Commends Senator Feingold for Hearing on Secret Law (04/30/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a Senate subcommittee for holding a hearing on the Bush administration’s use of secrecy to institute government policy. During the hearing, entitled “Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable Government,” the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and its chairman, Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), heard testimony from legal experts and open government advocates. The hearing focused on the administration’s broad interpretation of the law as it relates to government secrecy and counterterrorism policies – including a legal opinion written by former Justice Department Official John Yoo on the use of torture in interrogations. That memo was made public through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by the ACLU.

ACLU Urges Senate Committee to Pass Strong State Secrets Bill (04/24/2008)
Washington, DC – As the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to mark up key legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the body to pass a bill that would allow Americans to hold their government accountable. The bill, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would limit the scope of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration, which has threatened to veto Senator Kennedy’s bill, has used the privilege to halt several important lawsuits against the government, including an ACLU case involving the extraordinary rendition of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri.

ACLU Says Fusion Centers Remain Problematic (04/17/2008)
Washington, DC – As a Senate subcommittee met today to get a “progress report” on fusion centers, the American Civil Liberties Union once again voiced its concerns with the intelligence-gathering institutions. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration heard testimony from government and intelligence officials on a recent report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the centers. Though several recent reports have confirmed fusion centers’ growing role in law enforcement and revealed their expanding ties to private industry, including relationships with massive data-brokering companies, no third parties were set to testify. The ACLU released a report last year outlining serious concerns with fusion centers.

ACLU Lauds Introduction of House State Secrets Bill (03/13/2008)
Washington, DC – Legislation introduced today may give a much-needed reprieve to those who have sued the government and encountered the state secrets privilege. The legislation, introduced by Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would establish appropriate limits on the use of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration has misused the privilege to halt several important lawsuits against the government, including an ACLU case involving the extraordinary rendition of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

State Secrets Privilege Dangerously Overbroad (02/13/2008)
Washington, DC – Today the Senate Judiciary Committee convened to hear testimony on an evidentiary rule known as the state secret privilege. Committee member Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced legislation last month to narrow the scope of the privilege. During the Bush administration, the state secrets privilege has been increasingly and improperly used as a shield to prevent investigation into executive branch misconduct. The most notable invocation of the privilege was to stall the case of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri, who was kidnapped, detained and tortured in a secret overseas prison. His suit against the government was stalled after the administration invoked the privilege.

ACLU Welcomes Proposed State Secrets Fix, Applauds Senator Kennedy for Introduction of Legislation (01/22/2008)
Washington, DC – The Bush Administration may soon have one less tool in its chest to stymie legitimate cases that might expose government misconduct. Today, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), introduced legislation aimed at narrowing the scope of the state secrets privilege – a huge step towards opening the courthouse doors to people who have suffered real and legitimate harm by the government. Several important suits, including one involving the extraordinary rendition of a German citizen, Khaled El-Masri, have been successfully blocked by this administration’s use of the state secrets privilege.

ACLU Says FBI Guidelines Will Make Little Difference, Congress Must Impose Meaningful Oversight and Fix NSL Statute (04/18/2007)
Washington, DC - Today the American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy groups met with FBI representatives to discuss new guidelines for internal controls concerning National Security Letters. The Inspector General of the Department of Justice recently issued a report on the FBI’s abuse of National Security Letters that detailed significant abuses of the FBI’s NSL powers. The FBI scheduled the meeting to inform civil rights and privacy experts and to alleviate fears about internal guidelines.

DHS Acknowledges That Terror Ranking Program Is Already in Effect, ACLU Says Program Violates Congressional Spending Ban and Public Notice Requirements (12/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - In a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security acknowledges that its controversial Automated Targeting System terror-ranking program is already in operation - despite a congressional ban on such ranking systems and despite the fact that Congress and the public were never properly notified. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union today called on Congress to put a halt to this program and look into why it was created without public notice.

Massachusetts Pilot Cleared in Court Settlement; TSA Drops Accusations Based on Secret Evidence (08/07/2006)
BOSTON, MA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts announced today that it has settled two cases brought on behalf of Massachusetts pilot Robert Gray who had been labeled a threat by the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) based on secret evidence.

ACLU Condemns House Resolution Approving SWIFT Program (06/29/2006)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution that would support the Administration’s program to collect financial information obtained by the SWIFT financial clearinghouse. The House resolution also condemns the news media’s disclosure of that program.

Librarians Speak Out for First Time After Being Gagged by Patriot Act (05/30/2006)
NEW YORK -- Four Connecticut librarians who were gagged by the FBI spoke publicly for the first time today at an American Civil Liberties Union news conference about their months-long battle against Patriot Act demands for patrons' library records.

ACLU of New Jersey Goes to Court for Open Government Records (05/04/2006)
NEWARK, NJ -- The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey filed one lawsuit and reopened another today in actions concerning refusals by five New Jersey towns and the State Attorney General's Office to disclose information about individuals and organizations designated as "potential threat elements," including the criteria used by the state to make such determinations.

ACLU Applauds Lawmakers for Examining Government Transparency, Sunshine Week Hearing Shows Overclassification Harms Democracy (03/14/2006)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a key House panel for examining the issue of document overclassification. The hearing comes during Sunshine Week, a public education effort coordinated by journalists stressing openness in government. This is the third hearing in a series on overclassification initially sparked by the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency programs that are reclassifying and removing documents from the National Archives.

Inspector General's Report Concludes FBI Translator Fired for Reporting Misconduct (01/14/2005)
WASHINGTON-An unclassified summary of the Justice Department's Inspector General report into the termination of FBI translator Sibel Edmonds released today concludes that Edmonds was fired for reporting serious security breaches and misconduct in the agency's translation program.

Federal Court Orders Government to Release or Identify All Documents Related to Abuse of Detainees in U.S. Custody by October 15 (09/15/2004)
NEW YORK - Declaring that ""no one is above the law,"" a federal court judge today ordered the government to turn over or identify within 30 days all documents relating to the treatment of prisoners held by the United States at military bases and other detention facilities overseas, including Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

ACLU Obtains Rules of Secret Wiretap Court But Says Much of Government's Spy Power Remains Shrouded in Unnecessary Secrecy (08/25/2004)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today released a copy of the procedural rules of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the specially constituted intelligence court that oversees FBI surveillance in foreign intelligence and terrorism investigations. The ACLU obtained the rules as part of a final settlement of a lawsuit that sought details on how the government is using expansive surveillance powers granted by the Patriot Act.

ACLU Decries Government's Continued Stonewalling in Lawsuit Over Torture Documents (08/25/2004)
NEW YORK - Decrying the government's failure to comply with a court order requiring it to respond to a request for information about prisoner mistreatment abroad, the American Civil Liberties Union today said it will raise the issue with the court in a hearing scheduled for September 9.

Joint Statement of NGO Observers at Guantánamo Bay Military Commission Proceedings (08/23/2004)
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, CUBA -- Representatives of human rights and legal organizations invited to observe military commission proceedings at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba today expressed concern that they were being denied access to key participants in commission proceedings.