Inside the federal government's "Star Chamber"
Capitol Hill Blue
by Teresa Hampton
06/22/04
"Each and every weekday, 11 federal judges meet in secret in Washington and review FBI and Department of Homeland Security requests for warrants to spy on Americans. And, on average, the court approves seven warrants a day, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. ... Some privacy groups refer to the court as a 'Star Chamber,' a secret coven of judges who hold the future of Americans in their judicial hands. Although the court was created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, it has become recent tool of the Bush Administration to wiretap, follow, investigate and harass Americans under the guise of the war against terrorism. And the law allows the court to conduct its business in secret, with no oversight from any federal agency or legislative body, including the U.S. Congress...
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4724.shtml
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
by Teresa Hampton
06/22/04
"Each and every weekday, 11 federal judges meet in secret in Washington and review FBI and Department of Homeland Security requests for warrants to spy on Americans. And, on average, the court approves seven warrants a day, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. ... Some privacy groups refer to the court as a 'Star Chamber,' a secret coven of judges who hold the future of Americans in their judicial hands. Although the court was created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, it has become recent tool of the Bush Administration to wiretap, follow, investigate and harass Americans under the guise of the war against terrorism. And the law allows the court to conduct its business in secret, with no oversight from any federal agency or legislative body, including the U.S. Congress...
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4724.shtml
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
Starmail - 23. Jun, 18:26
