ACLU V. NSA LAWSUIT SEEKS END TO BUSH'S ILLEGAL SPYING

ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union

ACLU V. NSA LAWSUIT SEEKS END TO BUSH'S ILLEGAL SPYING

Tue Jan 17, 2006 23:42

Executive_Director@ACLU.org

ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union
ACLU V. NSA LAWSUIT SEEKS END TO BUSH'S ILLEGAL SPYING
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=plCGo8XQ92p5mViLuFhYIg
**********************************************

Dear Friend,

For over eighty-five years the ACLU and its members have been there to stand up for freedom when our leaders disregard and defy the Constitution.

We follow in that tradition today with the filing of ACLU v. NSA, a lawsuit seeking an end to the secret program of illegal electronic surveillance, authorized by President Bush.

Our lawsuit claims that this spying program violates Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution and that the president has exceeded the limits of executive authority under separation of powers principles.

The suit was filed in federal district court in Michigan, on behalf of several prominent journalists, scholars, attorneys, and national nonprofit organizations (including the ACLU) who frequently communicate by phone and email with people in the Middle East.

Though our president claims he can authorize warrantless spying on Americans, this surveillance program is illegal. The ACLU has launched an intensive effort to put an end to the program and restore lawfulness to government and law enforcement activities.

In addition to the ACLU v. NSA lawsuit, we've launched a multi-channel ad campaign, a widespread call for congressional hearings, and are urging the appointment of a special counsel who can independently investigate the actions of this administration and prosecute any and all crimes committed.

In the coming days, watch for news about our suit and other continuing efforts. Partisans in Washington have already been scrambling to undermine inquiries into the NSA scandal, but this lawsuit is grounded in our most basic American principles, and not driven by the tides of politics or spin.

Please continue to stand with us. Look for our advertisements in print and on the Web. Join our call for a special counsel and urge your friends to do the same. Your support has been, and will continue to be, fundamental to our success.

I'm never more proud to lead the ACLU than on days like today when we take the bold steps needed to preserve fundamental Constitutional principles. Through our actions, we will see that justice prevails.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director

****************************************

The ACLU is suing the NSA for violating the Constitution by illegally spying on innocent Americans. This spying without probable cause sends a chilling message to all of us that our conversations are not our own.

Read more about the case and our clients:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=NN5JZWqCDTBibdGhhurv7g

The fourth ACLU advertisement in a series calls for a stop to illegal spying. Forty years ago, when the government spied on Dr. King, wiretapping innocent American citizens was an abuse of government power. It still is.

View the ad here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=DSgCPqR_OKoUOY6xUE0rag

DEMAND ACTION: Our system of checks and balances must be maintained if American democracy is to be preserved. Contact Congress today and call for the appointment of a special counsel. Take action here:
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=nvwHSsWytQY7I0dSElwlIQ

****************************************
The ACLU is suing the National Security Agency for violating the U.S. Constitution. The illegal NSA spying program authorized by President Bush just after September 11, 2001, allows the NSA to intercept vast quantities of the international telephone and Internet communications of innocent Americans without court approval.

Without a system of checks and balances, the government can monitor any phone call or e-mail they want, and they can collect and disseminate any data they find however they like. Just knowing that the government is spying without cause on innocent Americans sends a chilling message to all of us that our conversations are not our own.

The NSA's warrantless surveillance must end and checks and balances be restored.
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/

ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004
This is the Web site of the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation.
Learn more about the distinction between these two components of the ACLU.
http://www.aclu.org/acluf.html

-------------------------------

Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts
A Half-Century of Surveillance

Bush on the Constitution: 'It's just a goddamned piece of paper'

"There ought to be limits to freedom"
-George W. Bush
http://www.apfn.org/apfn/bush_spy.htm

================================================

White House Accuses Gore of Hypocrisy

Former Vice President Al Gore gestures while addressing the American Constitution Society on the threat to the Constitution from President Bush's domestic ...

Gore's Challenge to Congress and the Media
MORE:>.

===============================================

http://www.worldcantwait.net/

If you heard Al Gore’s speech Monday, and feel the gravity of what he is describing, CLICK HERE.

Join the latest signers of our Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime: Major Owens, 11th Congressional District, D-NY; Niles Eldredge, curator of the Darwin Show at the Museum of Natural History, NYC; Lewis Lapham, former editor, Harper's Magazine; Martin Garbus, NYC

http://www.worldcantwait.net/

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

CONTACT:

World Can't Wait
305 Madison Avenue #1166
New York NY 10165

info@worldcantwait.org
866-973-4463

This is contact information for the National Office of World Can't Wait. If you are looking to see if there is a chapter or office near you please see "Local Chapters" on the menu below "Contact"

World Can't Wait is organizing people living in the United States to take responsibility to stop the whole disastrous course led by the Bush administration. We seek to create a political situation where the Bush administration's program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking U.S. society is reversed.

We seek to mobilize millions to express their outrage, to speak the truth, to act with urgency and form an organized political resistance. We welcome any individuals and groups who agree that the Bush Regime should be driven out, whatever their political party affiliation or lack thereof. We reach out to people who have been fooled by Bush, and to those who have been most seriously affected by the outrages inflicted by the Bush Regime.

http://www.worldcantwait.net/