FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7/21/06
THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD STRONGLY OPPOSES THE SPECTER-CHENEY NSA BILL
The National Lawyers Guild strongly opposes the new legislation offered by the Senate Intelligence Committee, a result
of negotiation by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and the White House. The proposed bill would allow the President to
unilaterally compel transfer of all pending lawsuits challenging the legality of the NSA’s warrant-less surveillance
program to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Challenges to the NSA Program have been filed by NLG lawyers, one in New York in conjunction with the Center for
Constitutional Rights, the other in Portland, Oregon on behalf of an Islamic charity and its attorneys. Similar
challenges have been brought in Detroit by the ACLU in Detroit and in San Francisco by the Electronic Frontier
Foundation.
“The Specter-Cheney Bill is not a compromise- the administration is not obliged to give up anything while the American
people sacrifice meaningful judicial review of an illegal program” said NLG attorney Ashlee Albies.
The bill would transfer all pending challenges to the program to a secret court that only hears argument from one
side—the government. It would also drastically reduce judicial and Congressional oversight of the NSA’s warrant-less
domestic spying, allowing the Executive Branch to eavesdrop on Americans without restraint. This program is illegal
under existing laws and violates the 4th Amendment warrant and probable cause requirements.
“Congress should not reward this Administration’s violations of existing law by condoning this program and allowing it
to continue” said Steven Goldberg, an NLG attorney working on the Portland case. “Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
recently acknowledged the President blocked an Office of Professional Responsibility investigation of the program, and
now this administration is trying to block any meaningful judicial review of the program.”
The NLG urges people to take action. Please contact your senators and let them know you do not support this bill.
Contact your local newspapers and express your opposition to the gutting of the 4th Amendment.
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