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ACLU Calls for End to Secure Flight and Registered Traveler Programs, Says TSA Passenger Screening Plans Fail to Identify Threats (02/09/2006)
WASHINGTON - Appearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged Congress to end two fatally flawed, airline passenger pre-screening systems operated by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Secure Flight and the Registered Traveler program. Both programs make America less safe while violating travelers’ civil liberties.

ACLU Urges House Committee to Act on Torture and Extraordinary Rendition, Says Adoption of Resolutions of Inquiry A Necessary Step (02/08/2006)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the House International Relations Committee to adopt three resolutions of inquiry directing the Bush administration to provide all documents on the development and implementation of its torture and extraordinary rendition policies. The committee is expected to meet this afternoon.

Attorney General Gonzales Refuses to Answer Questions From Senators, Fails to Address Concerns Surrounding Illegal NSA Spying on Americans (02/06/2006)
WASHINGTON -- Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales failed to answer direct, yet simple questions from senators surrounding the warrantless surveillance of Americans by the National Security Agency. The American Civil Liberties Union condemned that lack of transparency, noting that part of the role of the executive is to provide the legislative branch with ample information for proper oversight.

ACLU Welcomes Senate Inquiry Into Warrantless NSA Spying Program, Urges Lawmakers to Ask Tough Questions, Reject Administration Spin (02/06/2006)
WASHINGTON - As the Senate Judiciary Committee met today to conduct the first official Congressional oversight hearing on the warrantless National Security Agency wiretapping program, the American Civil Liberties Union urged Senators to ask tough questions of the sole witness, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and reject the administration's claim that the operation is both legal and necessary.

ACLU Says President Ignored State of Civil Liberties in Address; Bush Failed to Answer Questions on Patriot Act, NSA Spying (02/01/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly rebuked President Bush for failing to adequately address serious civil liberties concerns about his administration's actions since 9/11 in his State of the Union address delivered Tuesday. Specifically, the president failed to answer questions raised - from all points of the political spectrum - on his warrantless domestic spying program conducted by the National Security Agency and the over intrusive powers in the Patriot Act.

ACLU Seeks Pentagon Files on Peace Groups (02/01/2006)
WASHINGTON -- In the wake of new evidence revealing Pentagon surveillance of peace groups and protest activities, the American Civil Liberties Union and its affiliates across the country today filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests seeking to uncover who is being spied on by the Pentagon and why.

ACLU Calls on Congress to Make Meaningful Changes to Patriot Act, Says Privacy and Civil Liberties Still Remain at Risk (02/01/2006)
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today urged Congress to make modest, but meaningful changes to restore checks and balances to the Patriot Act as the House extended the deadline for certain provisions of the law to "sunset" or expire. On a voice vote, the House extended the expiration date to March 10, 2006. The Senate is expected to adopt the same measure.

ACLU of Northern California Seeks Pentagon Spy Files on Peace Groups (02/01/2006)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California today filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of University of California students and groups whose lawful activities may have been monitored by the Pentagon. The move is part of a national ACLU effort to reveal the extent and purpose of Pentagon spying.

ACLU of Florida Seeks Pentagon Files on Anti-War Groups (02/01/2006)
MIAMI -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of itself, seven other Florida organizations, and four local peace activists whose lawful activities may have been monitored by the Pentagon. The move is part of a national ACLU effort to reveal the extent and purpose of Pentagon spying.

ACLU of Pennsylvania Seeks Pentagon Files on Peace Groups (02/01/2006)
PHILADELPHIA – The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania today filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of local peace activists and protest groups whose lawful activities may have been monitored by the Pentagon. The move is part of a national ACLU effort to reveal the extent and purpose of Pentagon spying.

Peace Groups in Maine Under FBI Scrutiny (02/01/2006)
PORTLAND, ME – The Maine Civil Liberties Union announced today that it has uncovered evidence of Federal Bureau of Investigation surveillance of the Maine Coalition for Peace and Justice. The FBI responded to a June records request from the MCLU with revelations that it has intercepted and collected past communications from members of the Maine Coalition for Peace and Justice, a statewide organization of individual citizens and Maine group representatives working collectively and nonviolently for social equality, economic justice, direct democracy, and regenerative environmental policies.

ACLU Chief Calls on President to Shut Down Illegal Spying on Americans (01/31/2006)
NEW YORK - The president has an opportunity in his State of the Union address tonight to allay the concerns of millions by abandoning his illegal program of warrantless domestic spying, conducted by the most secretive entity in government -- the National Security Agency.

ACLU of Massachusetts Convenes Emergency Town Meeting on Domestic Spying and the Rule of Law (01/30/2006)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts will host an Emergency Town Meeting on the Bush Administration’s Domestic Spying Program tonight at Faneuil Hall -- on the eve of the President’s State of the Union address and the proposed vote to confirm Judge Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court.

ACLU Rebukes President's Claim That NSA Domestic Spying Program Is Legal, Says Previous Administration Positions Contradict Statements (01/26/2006)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly rebuked President Bush’s claims that the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretap program he authorized is legal and adequately protects civil liberties, and renewed its call for a full and independent investigation of the program.

ACLU of Ohio Launches Investigation into Defense Department Spying on Quakers and Peace Activists (01/26/2006)
CLEVELAND- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today said that it is investigating documented spying by the Department of Defense on two Northeast Ohio peace groups.

Bush Continues Aggressive Campaign on Illegal NSA Domestic Spying Program, ACLU Says Operation Still Violates Rule of Law, Must Be Ended (01/25/2006)
WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to speak today at the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland, to defend his continuing approval of that agency’s warrantless wiretap program. The American Civil Liberties Union has denounced that operation because it continues to violate both the letter and spirit of the law, and renewed its call for comprehensive and open Congressional hearings and for Attorney General Gonzales to appoint a special counsel to begin an independent investigation of the program.

ACLU Challenges Patriot Act Provision Used to Exclude Prominent Swiss Scholar from the United States (01/25/2006)
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit challenging a provision of the Patriot Act that is being used to deny visas to foreign scholars whose political views the government disfavors. The lawsuit charges that the “ideological exclusion” provision is being used to prevent United States citizens and residents from hearing speech that is protected by the First Amendment.

ACLU Demands End to Double Standard for Torture Crimes; Justice Department Admits That Top Torture Prosecutor Has Not Indicted Any Civilians (01/24/2006)
WASHINGTON - In a letter sent to Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) made public today, the Justice Department disclosed that 19 referrals have been made to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia regarding allegations of civilians who have engaged in torture and abuse, but that no civilians have been indicted. The only referral that was made to another U.S. Attorney resulted in an indictment. The American Civil Liberties Union called for an end to the double standard for torture and abuse crimes; while lower ranks of the military are being convicted for crimes in which they worked alongside CIA agents or other civilians, it appears that agents and contractors of the CIA are being held to a lower standard.

TSA and FBI Ordered to Pay $200,000 to Settle "No Fly" Lawsuit (01/24/2006)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The federal government today agreed to pay $200,000 in attorneys' fees to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California to end a Freedom of Information and Privacy Act lawsuit that succeeded in making public, for the first time, hundreds of records about the government's secret "no fly" list used to screen airline passengers after September 11, 2001.