[Infowarrior] - Spy Chief Seeks to Expand Power

[Richard Forno]

Spy Chief Seeks to Expand Power
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/04/spy_chief_seeks.html

The new director of national intelligence is seeking to expand the
government's ability to conduct black bag searches, allow the National
Security Agency to spy on foreigners inside the United States without a
warrant, kill off lawsuits against telecoms for helping the government spy
on American's phone calls, and make it easier for the government to get
phone and email records, even as the FBI remains mired in a scandal over its
illegal and widespread use of a Patriot Act power, according to the
Associated Press.

The draft bill being circulated by spy chief Mitch McConnell would,
according to the AP:

        * Give the NSA the power to monitor foreigners without seeking FISA
court approval, even if the surveillance is conducted by tapping phones and
e-mail accounts in the United States.[...]
        * Clarify the standards the FBI and NSA must use to get court orders
for basic information about calls and e-mails ‹ such as the number dialed,
e-mail address, or time and date of the communications. Civil liberties
advocates contend the change will make it too easy for the government to
access this information.
        * Triple the life span of a FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act] warrant for a non-U.S. citizen from 120 days to one year, allowing the
government to monitor much longer without checking back in with a judge.
        * Give telecommunications companies immunity from civil liability
for their cooperation with Bush's terrorist surveillance program. Pending
lawsuits against companies including Verizon and AT&T allege they violated
privacy laws by giving phone records to the NSA for the program.
        * Extend from 72 hours to one week the amount of time the government
can conduct surveillance without a court order in emergencies.

The bill would be yet another attempt to update FISA, a bill that seems to
always be not up to the task. It was last updated in 2005. Shortly
thereafter, the government's warrantless wiretapping program and a related
program in which phone companies dumped their phone call databases to the
NSA were revealed, giving lie to campaign assurances from President Bush
that all wiretaps had court approval.

The provision to include what can only be retroactive immunity for telcos is
very interesting in that this provision has been widely rumored in many
bills floating around Congress, but has never been inserted in a publicly
introduced bill. It's evidence that the telcos remain afraid that they could
be found liable for billions of dollars in fines if a court finds they
indeed helped the government spy on Americans without requiring valid legal
process.

McConnell is going to have a tough road ahead of him, given the bill needs
the blessing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which these days is talking
about rolling back Patriot Act powers, not increasing them.