White House Asks Judge To Dismiss NSA Suit genre: Just Jihad & Polispeak

Wiretapping case

In an expected move, the White House has asked a U.S. District Court judge in Detroit to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges the legality of the Bush administration's NSA domestic surveillance program. The government argued that allowing the case to proceed would jeopardize national security. Despite the contention, the real question is whether or not the administration had the authority to enact such a program without the oversight of the FISA court, a court specifically established to oversee such matters. The White House has sought to portray the issue as simply a matter of protecting America from terrorist activities. Read the full article here.

In arguments before U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit, the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday renewed its call for a court order that would force the government to suspend its program of intercepting without a court order the international phone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens.

But the U.S. Justice Department has asked federal judges in Detroit and New York to throw out the landmark challenges to the eavesdropping program.

In both cases, the Bush administration has invoked a legal doctrine known as the "state-secrets privilege" that it has used to head off other court action spy programs.

"If the court accepts the state-secret argument, we are truly facing a constitutional crisis in this country," Michael Steinberg, legal director for ACLU Michigan, told reporters after the hearing.

The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit in January, argues that the NSA wiretaps violate free-speech and privacy rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Government lawyers on Monday argued that the NSA program was key to protecting national security.

The ACLU said it expected a decision soon from Taylor. "She has so far been proceeding quite quickly," said the ACLU's associate legal director Ann Beeson.

Thought Theater has previously posted on the issue here and here.

Daniel DiRito | July 10, 2006 | 4:16 PM
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