Subject: [NEXTEL-1] More wiretaps in espionage, terror cases alarms ACLU

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 14:06:22 -0400

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/21477.php

More wiretaps in espionage, terror cases alarms ACLU
COX NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON - New government statistics showing that secret surveillance
warrants in terror and espionage cases have eclipsed criminal wiretaps
for
the first time are raising red flags among open-government advocates.

Federal and state courts approved a total of 1,442 interceptions of
wire,
oral or electronic communications for criminal cases in 2003, according
to
statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts last
week.

By comparison, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court issued 1,724
warrants in terrorism and espionage cases last year, according to
recently
released Justice Department figures.

The statistics reveal a trend toward more government secrecy, said Tim
Edgar, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union's
Washington office.

The targets of the terrorism and espionage warrants approved by the
ultrasecret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court are never informed
about
their surveillance. The warrants last far longer with little oversight
to
ensure they are gathering intelligence. And they can be approved even if
law
enforcement agents do not meet standards of probable cause for a
criminal
case.

"That these warrants are becoming the major form of surveillance in this
country is very troubling," Edgar said. "They are shifting surveillance
from
a court where there is less secrecy, more oversight and a probable cause
standard to a court where there is more secrecy, no oversight and no
probable cause statute."

The Justice Department interprets the dramatic increase in surveillance
warrants for terror and espionage cases in a far different light.
Attorney
General John Ashcroft said it shows that the department is aggressively
hunting suspected terrorists.

In a formal statement announcing the increase, Ashcroft highlighted the
fact
that the number of secret surveillance warrants for terrorism and
espionage
has almost doubled since 2001, the year al-Qaida struck New York and
Washington, killing nearly 3,000 people.

"To keep the United States and its people safe, it is critical that the
Department of Justice use every legal means to detect, deter and disrupt
foreign terrorists and their activities here in America," Ashcroft said.
"As
this report to Congress shows, the department is deploying its legal
resources to uncover and prevent terrorist attacks on Americans."

But critics say the only thing the report to Congress shows is that the
raw
numbers of warrants to surveil suspected terrorists and spies for
foreign
governments has increased.

There is much less accountability in the surveillance warrants issued by
the
FISA court than there is in the warrants issued by a criminal court,
said
David L. Sobel, general counsel at a nonprofit organization that tracks
government secrecy issues.

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