The ‘war on terrorism’ is a war on freedom (ours): U.S. Will Monitor Calls to Lawyers: Most egregious action yet by Ashcroft; I agree with stunned defense attorneys who have characterized this as a blatant assault on constitutionally guaranteed right to counsel and a “terrifying precedent.”
The Justice Department has decided to listen in on the conversations of lawyers with clients in federal custody, including people who have been detained but not charged with any crime, whenever that is deemed necessary to prevent violence or terrorism.
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft approved the eavesdropping rule on an emergency basis last week, without the usual waiting period for public comment. It went into effect immediately, permitting the government to monitor conversations and intercept mail between people in custody and their attorneys for up to a year at a time. Washington Post
Equally frightening, this proposal, which has been mentioned before but now appears to enjoy the support of the heavyhitters of the airline industry, represents a step toward an all-encompassing central database:
The airline industry on Thursday formally called for a massive screening system that would subject passengers to intensive background checks, providing a boost to one of the more controversial security ideas under discussion since Sept. 11.
Under the Air Transport Assn. proposal, all reservations would be checked against a new government database that would include arrest records, intelligence information, immigration files and financial data. This master database, constantly updated, would be used to identify individuals who merit closer screening at the airport. LA Times
The CIA is gaining sweeping new centralized authority over intelligence gathering, in a proposed reorganization:
(A) presidential panel prepared to recommend an overhaul of U.S. intelligence agencies. The plan would consolidate often disparate and competing spy resources under the stewardship of the CIA director, officials said.
The panel, expected to deliver its recommendations to President Bush next month, would give the CIA new authority over spy satellites and electronic intercepts, officials said.
The CIA chief would gain control over three large military intelligence agencies that now are part of the Defense Department, according to a U.S. official familiar with the draft proposals.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the agencies include the National Security Agency, which oversees electronic intercepts; the National Reconnaissance Office, which designs and operates intelligence-gathering satellites; and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, which interprets satellite photos and creates military maps.
And the FBI is going to be recast on a (permanent?) war footing, Ashcroft assures us. New York Times
