EFF files lawsuit against Bush, Cheney, Addington, Gonzales, et al.

[IAMX 3,055]

Here's EFF, doing the Congress' job of oversight that they didn't do :

http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/09/17-0

EFF Sues NSA, President Bush, and Vice President Cheney to Stop Illegal Surveillance

New Legal Challenge to Unconstitutional Domestic Spying

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a lawsuit against the National Security Agency (NSA) and other government agencies today on behalf of AT&T customers to stop the illegal, unconstitutional, and ongoing dragnet surveillance of their communications and communications records. The five individual plaintiffs are also suing President George W. Bush, Vice President ####### Cheney, Cheney's chief of staff David Addington, former Attorney General and White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and other individuals who ordered or participated in the warrantless domestic surveillance.

The lawsuit, Jewel v. NSA, is aimed at ending the NSA's dragnet surveillance of millions of ordinary Americans and holding accountable the government officials who illegally authorized it. Evidence in the case includes undisputed documents provided by former AT&T telecommunications technician Mark Klein showing AT&T has routed copies of Internet traffic to a secret room in San Francisco controlled by the NSA.

That same evidence is central to Hepting v. AT&T, a class-action lawsuit filed by EFF in 2006 to stop the telecom giant's participation in the illegal surveillance program. Earlier this year, Congress passed a law attempting to derail that case by unconstitutionally granting immunity to AT&T and other companies that took part in the dragnet. Hepting v. AT&T is now stalled in federal court while EFF argues with the government over whether the immunity is constitutional and applies in that case -- litigation that is likely to continue well into 2009.

"In addition to suing AT&T, we've now opened a second front in the battle to stop the NSA's illegal surveillance of millions of ordinary Americans and hold personally responsible those who authorized or participated in the spying program," said Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "For years, the NSA has been engaged in a massive and massively illegal fishing expedition through AT&T's domestic networks and databases of customer records. Our goal in this new case against the government, as in our case against AT&T, is to dismantle this dragnet surveillance program as soon as possible."

In addition to suing the government agencies involved in the domestic dragnet, the lawsuit also targets the individuals responsible for creating, authorizing, and implementing the illegal program, including President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

"Demanding personal accountability from President Bush, Vice President Cheney and others responsible for the NSA's dragnet surveillance of ordinary Americans' communications is the best way to guarantee that such blatantly illegal spying will not be authorized in the future," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Our lawsuit today should sound a clear warning to future occupants of the White House: if you break the law and violate Americans' privacy, there will be consequences."

For the full complaint in Jewel v. NSA:

http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/jewel/jewel.complaint.pdf

For more on the case:

http://www.eff.org/cases/jewel

Related Issues: NSA Spying

Related Cases: Jewel v. NSA

Good luck to the EFF and may the judges rule in favor of our rights.

Also, remember, Obama was for this spying, as well as McCain. Your Presidential candidates caring more about spying on you than protecting your rights.

[IAMX 3,055]

By the way, this wouldn't be possible even to know this was going on without a hero from San Francisco who worked for AT&T and had every obligation to question these acts for our sakes:

Evidence in the case includes undisputed documents provided by former AT&T telecommunications technician Mark Klein showing AT&T has routed copies of Internet traffic to a secret room in San Francisco controlled by the NSA.

They need to trash that building and get that sort of ####### out of San Francisco.

Edited September 19, 2008 by SRVT

[pedroh 21]

nice!!!

let's hope for this sh!t to be over.. that wiretapping has always being illegal..

[IAMX 3,055]

nice!!!

let's hope for this sh!t to be over.. that wiretapping has always being illegal..

Not just illegal. It's the executive's recent trend toward further clandestine behavior in reducing oversight/checks and balances. People are bending over way too much for this government in the name of "terrorism".

[pedroh 21]

yea i agree

---- waiting for 'since all that started, how many terrorist attacks have ocurred?' phrase..

Edited September 19, 2008 by pedroh