Forget ‘Cellphone,’ That’s a ‘Tracker’ in Your Pocket

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 16, 2012 Mobile phone service providers collect user information and share it with the government, to the tune of at least 1.3 million disclosures per year. What if our nomenclature reflected that? Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

FISA Deal: Compromise or Capitulation?

Staff / Truthdig Jun 20, 2008 Democrats and Republicans cut a deal in Congress on Thursday to rewrite controversial surveillance legislation. It's being billed as a compromise, but civil rights advocates are groaning over concessions including virtual immunity for telecommunications companies and the ability to spy on Americans without a warrant. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Adviser: McCain Backs Bush’s Wiretaps

Staff / Truthdig Jun 6, 2008 As if 100 years in Iraq wasn't enough, a top adviser to John McCain claims that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee supports and believes lawful Bush's infamous warrantless wiretapping program. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Congress Holds Sensory-Deprived Session

Staff / Truthdig Mar 14, 2008 At the request of House Republicans, Congress on Thursday held a closed-door session to debate the FISA warrantless eavesdropping bill. The last time a closed-door session occurred was in 1983, when lawmakers convened in secret to discuss clandestine U.S. support of Contra paramilitaries in Nicaragua. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Senate Lets Telecoms Off the Hook

Staff / Truthdig Feb 13, 2008 This might be a moment when Democratic supporters wonder what all the "changing of the guard" fuss was about when Dems took control of Congress in 2006: On Tuesday, the Senate effectively voted in favor of granting telecommunication companies retroactive immunity for their cooperation in the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Dodd Gears Up for FISA Filibuster

Staff / Truthdig Dec 18, 2007 Sen. Chris Dodd is preparing to take to the Senate floor with a filibuster to thwart the legislative advancement of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act if it doesn't include his proposed amendment, co-sponsored with Sen. Russ Feingold, that would prevent the Bush administration from retroactively letting big telecom companies off the hook for allowing the government to conduct warrantless surveillance on their networks. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Truthdigger of the Week: Ann Beeson

Staff / Truthdig Aug 20, 2006 Truthdig salutes Ann Beeson, the American Civil Liberties Union officer and lead attorney for the plaintiffs in ACLU v. NSA, the case that persuaded a Detroit judge to order a halt to the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. 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 )

Bush Is Flouting Court After Gitmo Ruling

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2006 Constitutional expert and best-selling author Glenn Greenwald reminds us that the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision not only outlawed Bush's military tribunals, but also removed any conceivable argument to support Bush's illegal wiretapping programs. Greenwald: "Journalists should begin asking the Justice Department every day what their legal justification for warrantless eavesdropping is now that Hamdan has rendered frivolous their prior legal arguments in defense of the President." Dig deeper ( 2 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 )

Saudi Group Alleges Wiretapping by U.S.

Staff / Truthdig Mar 2, 2006 This may provide the first detailed evidence of U.S. residents being spied upon by Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Congressional Probe of NSA Spying Is in Doubt

Staff / Truthdig Feb 15, 2006 An all-out White House lobbying campaign has dramatically slowed an investigation into Bush's spying program and may eventually kill it. The White House may have botched Cheney's response to the hunting incident, but the administration sure hasn't lost its touch when it comes to leaning on moderate Republicans (and even Democrats) to rally around the president. Call your senators--especially Olympia Snowe of Maine--and urge them not to cave in to political pressure. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )