We WILL see Shrub and Uncle Fester in court (I hope)

Worried that the government will find a way to trash its spying suit againt AT&T et al, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing Cheney and Bush themselves.

First, assuming a judge even lets this case sniff a courtroom’s air — by the time it gets there, Fester and the Preznit will be out of office and his lawyers will be paid entirely out of his (rather substantial) dime.

Besides Cheney personally, other notables on the EFF lawsuit include, but are not limited to, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former Attorney General and White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Cheney's chief of staff David Addington.

For whatever reason, Wired doesn’t list Bush as a defendant, but he is named, on para. 29, page 6 of the PDF (link below).

EFF’s idea is to monkeywrench the government’s ability to grant immunity to the telcos in the first place. (Are you listening, Barack Obama?) And it’s hoping it’s got enough whistleblower evidence for a court to grant standing.

PDF of the actual filing is at EFF's site.

Among the hugely relevant complaints is that the government is getting ex parte information funneled back to itself from AT&T, and that the government may well be spying on the plaintiffs as we speak.

The more than one dozen counts in the suit allege violation of the Fourth Amendment, First Amendment (free association as well as free speech), FISA, 50 U.S.C. § 1809, (specifics regs of electronic surveillance), 18 U.S.C. § 2511 (knowingly using material believed to be illegally intercepted), 18 U.S.C. § 2703 (secure content of stored electronic communication), 18 U.S.C. § 2703 and separation of powers (Congress and Executive usurping judicial functions).

Thanks for protecting our civil liberties, Obama — NOT

NOT! is right

Only a couple of months after Barack Obama, by that time the putative leader of the Democratic Party, caved in the Senate on the FISA amendment bill and voted to allow the possibility that telecom companies would be immunized from prosecution for spying on ordinary Americans, the National Security Agency is moving toward trying to make that a reality.

Justice Department special counsel Anthony Coppolino says the government intends to meeth the immunity bill's procedural hurdles by Sept. 19 and thus seek blanket immunity on behalf of the companies.

Now, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, overseeing 36 commingled lawsuits in a San Francisco federal court, still may not grant that immunity request. In fact, Walker has set a Dec. 2 hearing in which he would allow the Electronic Frontier Foundation to challenge the immunity legislation B.O. helped pass July 9.

Per the Wired story, the EFF is challenging the constitutionality of Obama’s work on five grounds:

1. Congress violated the separation of powers by attempting to usurp judicial authority to decide the Fourth Amendment claims of millions of ordinary Americans who have been, and continue to be, subjected to dragnet surveillance for the past seven years.

2. Congress exceeded its constitutional authority by passing legislation that grants to the Executive the discretion to essentially dictate the outcome of specific, pending litigation.

3. The statute improperly requires dismissal of claims of illegal surveillance between September 11, 2001 and January 17, 2007 based not on a judicial finding about the facts of the surveillance or the legality or constitutionality of the surveillance, but instead merely based on a 'certification" from the attorney general that some unknown member of the Executive branch told the carriers that some undescribed surveillance is 'lawful.'

4. The legislation denies due process to the plaintiffs by granting to the Executive, rather than the courts, the essential decision making about their constitutional and statutory rights.

5. The legislation purports to grant the Executive a unilateral right to require that the court keep secret not only the evidence, but also its own decisions.

On paper, the EFF has got a strong claim. But not ironclad.

Point No. 1 may play well to judges, starting with Walker, who are prickly about judicial prerogatives and independence. Legally, in the narrow sense, a bit different.

Point No. 2 is simply a legal pleading.

Points No. 3 and 4 are the key, with Point 5 tagging along with Point No. 4 on due process issues.

But, since Obama is a constitutional law genius, he anticipated all of these concerns and duly weighed them before rejecting them, right?

So much a constitutional law genius that Passive Pelosi™ and the other FISA 45-percenters in the Democratic party followed right along.

You know you still have an option.

Vote Green.

Are ACLU, EFF protesting Pelosi at Netroots Nation?

Nancy Pelosi, the infamous Passive Pelosi™ herself, is at the formerly styled Yearly Kos, now known as Netroots Nation, taking place in Austin July 17-20 at the Austin Convention Center. Obama has been invited; no word if he will show up.

Question: will folks like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU be there to protest?

Even though the ACLU is filing a FISA lawsuit, I never heard anything in advance from the ACLU of Texas, if it was going to stand up for ACLU traditions and at least have a news conference, if not a protest.

If the ACLU of Texas gives me any info, I’ll let you know.

If you want to shame it for not protesting, give them an e-mail.

Don’t hold your EFF and ACLU breath over FISA suits

I certainly appreciate the plans of both the American Civil Liberties Union (as a member) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation to sue over the constitutionality of the FISA bill, but I don’t think it will fly.

The same old song and dance of the past will be repeated, in the following version.

The lawsuits will be dismissed when the relevant district judge accepts the Bush “get out of jail free” note and OKs it.

The two organizations, with the same whistleblowers as plaintiffs, will sue.

Eventually, as has happened with other lawsuits, such as some against the Patriot Act, courts will find that the plaintiffs don’t have standing because they can’t prove they were personally affected.

Remember, you heard it here first.

Bring your FISA protest signs to Austin in two weeks

Nancy Pelosi, the infamous Passive Pelosi™ herself, is supposed to be at the formerly styled Yearly Kos, now known as Netroots Nation, taking place in Austin July 17-20 at the Austin Convention Center. Obama has been invited; no word if he will show up.

Question: will folks like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU be there to protest?

I would assume that the ACLU of Texas, if it is going to stand up for ACLU traditions, will be there, with at least a news conference if not a protest.

If the ACLU of Texas gives me any info, I’ll let you know.

If you want to ask it the same question, or badger it into action, here’s your e-mail link.

Bring your FISA protest signs to Austin next month

Nancy Pelosi, the infamous Passive Pelosi™ herself, is supposed to be at the formerly styled Yearly Kos, now known as Netroots Nation, taking place in Austin July 17-20 at the Austin Convention Center. Obama has been invited; no word if he will show up.

Question: will folks like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU be there to protest?

I would assume that the ACLU of Texas, if it is going to stand up for ACLU traditions, will be there, with at least a news conference if not a protest.

If the ACLU of Texas gives me any info, I’ll let you know.

If you want to ask it the same question, or badger it into action, here’s your e-mail link.