ACLU Sues over NSA Eavesdropping Program

Complaint: Bush exceeded authority with warrantless wiretaps

WASHINGTON (CNN) January 17, 2006 — The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday said it had filed suit against the National Security Agency, alleging that its warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and that President Bush, in authorizing it, exceeded his constitutional authority.

"President Bush may believe he can authorize spying on Americans without judicial or congressional approval, but this program is illegal, and we intend to put a stop to it," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero.

Shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Bush reportedly authorized the NSA to intercept communications between people inside the United States, including American citizens, and terrorism suspects overseas, without obtaining a warrant.

Bush and other administration officials contend his constitutional powers as commander in chief as well as a congressional resolution passed in the wake of 9/11 provide the legal authority for the warrantless surveillance.

In a written statement, Romero said "surveillance of Americans is a chilling assertion of presidential power that has not been seen since the days of Richard Nixon."

In an interview Monday on CNN's "Larry King Live," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the program, saying that "from its inception [it] has been carefully reviewed by lawyers from throughout the administration, people who are experienced in this area of the law. We believe the president does have the legal authorities to authorize this program."

But some Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have expressed skepticism about the program. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, plans to hold hearings about it next month. Gonzales is expected to testify.

Gore: Bush broke law

The ACLU's 60-page complaint was filed on behalf of journalists, scholars and organizations in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan and names the NSA and its director, Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, as defendants.

"The prohibition against government eavesdropping on American citizens is well-established and crystal clear," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson, lead counsel in the lawsuit. "President Bush's claim that he is not bound by the law is simply astounding. Our democratic system depends on the rule of law, and not even the president can issue illegal orders that violate constitutional principles."

The lawsuit asks the court to find the program violates the First and Fourth amendments to the Constitution — "free speech and associational rights" and "privacy rights" — as well as the "principle of separation of powers" of the executive and legislative branches of government.

The spying program is also illegal, the lawsuit contends, because it fails to follow established law.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 covers domestic wiretaps, requiring the government to go to a special court to seek a warrant within 72 hours of establishing such a wiretap.

Former Vice President and 2000 presidential candidate Al Gore said Monday that the use of the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans without court approval shows that Bush "has been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently."

"A president who breaks the law is a threat to the very structure of our government," Gore said during a speech in Washington.

Watergate comparison

Journalist James Bamford, a plaintiff and author of "The Puzzle Palace: A Report on NSA, America's Most Secret Agency," said that "the spying program removes a necessary firewall that would prevent the kind of government abuse seen during the Watergate scandal."

Other plaintiffs include journalists Christopher Hitchens and Tara McKelvey, scholars Barnett Rubin and Larry Diamond, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Greenpeace and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The suit asks the court to halt the program and award the plaintiffs attorneys' fees and court costs.