Tech Group Appeals Wiretap Ruling

Staff / Truthdig Jul 22, 2006 A group of technology companies and civil liberties organizations has appealed a court ruling that would require Internet service providers to allow the government backdoor access to their systems. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Gonzales: Bush Personally Blocked DOJ Probe of Spy Program

Staff / Truthdig Jul 18, 2006 Testifying before Congress this morning, Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales said that Bush halted the investigation into the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program by personally denying security clearances to Department of Justice lawyers investigating the case. (article or video) Pardon us for being reflexively cynical about Bush's motives in this one, but the president doesn't have a shred of credibility on this issue. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Err … About that Specter-Bush Eavesdropping Deal…

Staff / Truthdig Jul 14, 2006 Looks like we were a little too hasty on this one. We had blogged that Sen. Arlen Specter had introduced a bill that would require Bush to get court approval for his NSA wiretapping programs. Turns out that's not the case. Specter's bill would merely give Bush the option of bringing his program before a court -- which Bush should have done in the first place. Think Progress and AMERICAblog have the details. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Breaking: Bush to Submit to Eavesdropping Oversight?

Staff / Truthdig Jul 13, 2006 From CNN: Sen. Arlen Specter revealed a bill that would require a court to review the constitutionality of the National Security Agency's controversial intelligence-gathering program, saying the deal was negotiated with the Bush administration's cooperation, and that Bush would sign the bill if it doesn't change dramatically. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

FBI Plans New Push on Internet Surveillance

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2006 According to CNET: "The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would require Internet service providers to create wiretapping hubs for police surveillance and force makers of networking gear to build in backdoors for eavesdropping." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Were Cheney, Gonzales and Hayden Lying About Wiretap Capabilities?

Staff / Truthdig Jul 6, 2006 If Bloomberg News is correct in its June 30 report that the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program started up to seven months before the Sept. 11 attacks, then why did the vice president, the attorney general and the new CIA chief say otherwise? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Report: NSA Sought Phone Records Before 9/11

Staff / Truthdig Jul 3, 2006 The NSA asked AT&T to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the attacks of Sept 11, 2001, allege lawyers filing a lawsuit on behalf of telephone company customers This is huge because, according to a lawyer on the case, "The Bush Administration asserted this became necessary after 9/11 This undermines that assertion''. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

USA Today Backs Off Phone Records Story

Staff / Truthdig Jun 30, 2006 The newspaper originally reported that AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon have been providing phone call data to the NSA. But now USA Today says it can't confirm that either BellSouth or Verizon provided the data. (AT&T definitely appears to have done so.) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Hayden Confirmed as CIA Director

Staff / Truthdig May 26, 2006 History will surely boggle at this one: The architect of the NSA's domestic spying program has been made the head of the CIA. And the vote was 78-15. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Gonzales Sidesteps Legal Issues of NSA Spying

Staff / Truthdig May 24, 2006 The attorney general, in defending the NSA's collection of millions of U.S. phone records, claims it is constitutional--but conveniently ignores the fact that it appears to be illegal. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Blockbuster Report: AT&T Allows NSA to Spy on Entire Internet

Staff / Truthdig May 22, 2006 This is the big one, folks Wired News unearths internal AT&T documents that show how the telecom company, at the behest of the government, built "secret rooms" in cities across America that enable the NSA "to look at every individual message on the Internet and analyze exactly what people are doing" Story and AT&T internal documents Wired News explains why it published the story. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Watching What You Say

Staff / Truthdig May 12, 2006 Before the USA Today story, The Nation magazine had loads of details on the NSA-telecom spying program: a lawsuit against AT&T; links between telecom officials and the White House; and a history of how these insidious relationships developed. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )