Sen. Specter Emerges as Key Civil Liberties Advocate in Patriot Act Markup

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) just gave a remarkable speech at the Senate Judiciary Committee markup session explaining why he’s voting against reauthorization of the Patriot Act provisions because the substitute Leahy-Feinstein bill, which I described earlier today, doesn’t adequately protect American civil liberties.

Responding to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s More…

Democrats Split on Patriot Act

Republicans and Democrats have been sniping about the USA Patriot Act ever since Congress passed the law in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks to try to forestall another such disaster. But now, it’s the Democrats who are sniping among themselves about it. While some lawmakers, like Sens. More…

Al Franken Reads the 4th Amendment to Justice Department Official

Just in case he wasn’t familiar with it, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) decided to read the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution to David Kris, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, who was testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee today to urge reauthorization of expiring provisions of More…

[UPDATED] Obama Administration Announces New State Secrets Policy, Finally

After seeking to dismiss at least a half-dozen lawsuits alleging torture, illegal wiretapping and other abuses by Bush administration officials, each time on the grounds that the lawsuits would endanger national security by unearthing “state secrets,” the Obama administration today is expected to finally change its tune.

Carrie Johnson More…

Patriot Act Renewal Debate Kicks Off Over Party Lines

Eight years after it was passed, the USA Patriot Act remains among the most controversial pieces of counterterrorism legislation in the so-called “war on terror.” On December 31 of this year, some of its more controversial provisions will expire, forcing Congress to revisit it More…

Democrats Lament Midnight Changes to Patriot Act

One of the highlights of today’s House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act was Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers’ (D-Mich.) repeated lamentations about the sneaky way that the Patriot Act got passed in the first place, offering an interesting glimpse into the behind-the-scenes workings More…

Feingold: Legal Memos on ‘Blatantly Illegal’ Surveillance Still in Place

No real surprise that progressive Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) would be appalled by the inspectors general report on warrantless surveillance, but this is news to me:

“This report leaves no doubt that the warrantless wiretapping program was blatantly illegal and an unconstitutional assertion of executive power. I once again

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Cases Hint at Sotomayor’s Views on Executive Power

Most commentators and reporters have assumed that when it comes to Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s record, there’s little to suggest how she might rule on critical matters of executive power and national security that are sure to be among the most controversial issues before the court in the next few years. More…

Karl Rove Clings to That Old-Time Religion

My LULZ of the day came from this Karl Rove prognostication, which I saw courtesy of ThinkProgress’ Faiz Shakir:

“One year from now, Gitmo won’t be closed…. If it is, there will be an uproar in the U.S. about where to put these people.”

Uh, maybe, I guess, who More…