Archiv: Patriot Act / Freedom Act / Section 215


15.09.2023 - 21:55 [ MisesInstitute.org ]

America Since 9/11: 22 Years of Lies and Despotism

Just last week, Dick Cheney took to social media to condemn Donald Trump as a threat „to our republic.“ This video echoes a similar condemnation from George W. Bush in 2021.

In a more reasonable world, people like Cheney, Rice, Bolton, et al, would all be forgotten, shamed, disgraced politicians. They all would have been forced into retirement and shunned years ago after overseeing multiple disastrous wars abroad and the creation of a surveillance state at home. Many of them would just now be emerging from prison for their crimes against both international law and the US Constitution.

Unfortunately, we don‘t live in a more reasonable world.

12.07.2023 - 04:41 [ Netzpolitik.org ]

Transatlantische Massenüberwachung: Nimm das doch endlich ernst, Ursula!

Der „Transatlantische Datenschutzrahmen“ garantiert US-Konzernen wie Facebook, dass sie weiterhin Nutzer:innendaten aus Europa ungehindert in die USA übertragen können. Dass sie dort kaum rechtlichen Schutz vor dem anlasslosen wie massenhaften Zugriff der amerikanischen Behörden haben, daran ändert der neue Datenschutzrahmen ebenso wenig wie seine beiden gescheiterten Vorgänger Safe Harbor und Privacy Shield. Schon 2015 und 2020 erklärte der Europäische Gerichtshof diese Beschlüsse der EU-Kommission für ungültig, die eine Blankoerlaubnis für den Datentransfer in die USA geben. Doch allen Bedenken zum Trotz hat die EU-Kommission nun ein drittes Mal einen Blankoscheck ausgestellt – aus der Zusicherung Von der Leyens im Vorjahr wurde nun eine rechtsgültiger Beschluss.

07.05.2023 - 12:10 [ Ron Wyden / Youtube ]

Wyden Warns of Potential Public Backlash From Allowing Secret Law

(May 27, 2011)

Speaking on the floor of the U.S Senate during the truncated debate on the reauthorization of the PATRIOT ACT for another four years, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence — warned his colleagues that a vote to extend the bill without amendments that would ban any Administration‘s ability to keep internal interpretations of the Patriot Act classified will eventually cause public outrage.

Known as Secret Law, the official interpretation of the Patriot Act could dramatically differ from what the public believes the law allows. This could create severe violations of the Constitutional and Civil Rights of American Citizens.

05.05.2023 - 20:30 [ theLastAmericanVagabond.com ]

All Roads Lead to Dark Winter

(April 1, 2020)

The leaders of two controversial pandemic simulations that took place just months before the Coronavirus crisis – Event 201 and Crimson Contagion – share a common history, the 2001 biowarfare simulation Dark Winter. Dark Winter not only predicted the 2001 anthrax attacks, but some of its participants had clear foreknowledge of those attacks.

11.09.2021 - 12:40 [ Golem.de ]

Bundestag: Geheimdienstbefugnisse gelten unbefristet

(06.11.2020)

Nun stimmte der Bundestag für die Entfristung der Geheimdienstbefugnisse. Die Regelungen wären sonst zum 10. Januar 2021 ausgelaufen. (…)

Nach einer Entscheidung des Bundesverfassungsgericht aus dem Jahr 2005 müssten die verschiedenen Grundrechtseingriffe in ihrer gemeinsamen Wirkung analysiert werden.

11.09.2021 - 12:30 [ Radio Utopie ]

Terrorgesetze die „eigentlich hätten geprüft werden müssen“ bis 2021 verlängert

(16.November 2015)

Am 5. November verlängerte der fast leere Bundestag das Artikel 10-Gesetz, das Bundesverfassungsschutzgesetz, das BND-Gesetz, das Bundeskriminalamtgesetz, das MAD-Gesetz, das Sicherheitsüberprüfungsgesetz und das Straßenverkehrsgesetz in seiner jetzigen Form bis zum Jahre 2021. Alle Gesetze wären sonst in ihrer jetzigen Form am 10. Januar 2016 ausgelaufen.

Keiner der wenigen anwesenden Abgeordneten erwähnte das tatsächliche Ausmaß dieses Vorgangs auch nur mit einem Wort.

Nötig für diese multiple Regeneration des geheimdienstlichen Komplexes, in seiner ganzen interaktiven Rückwirkung, Interaktion und wechselwirkenden Gesetzgebung, explizit mit der „Telekommunikations-Überwachungsverordnung“ (TKÜV) (wir berichteten), war die Verlängerung eines einzigen Gesetzes: des Ende 2006 beschlossenen „Terrorismusbekämpfungsergänzungsgesetzes“, Nachfolger des „Terrorismusbekämpfungsgesetzes“, welches das Parlament als Pendant zum „Patriot Act“ nach den gerichtlich nie untersuchten Attentaten vom 11. September 2001 in New York und Washington auf Vorschlag von S.P.D. und Bündnis 90/Die Grünen durchgewunkenen hatte.

Effektiv war dieser deutsche „Patriot Act“ aus 2001 bereits zweimal verlängert worden: Ende 2006 für fünf Jahre Jahre und Ende 2011 für 4 Jahre. Auch dieses Prinzip von Installation und Verlängerungen über mehrere Jahre folgte systemisch den Vorgaben aus dem geheimdienstlichen Komplex der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und seinem „Patriot Act“.

16.03.2021 - 01:53 [ Mark Udall, Bob Goodlatte / Common Dreams ]

The Secrecy and Unaccountability of the Surveillance State Delegitimizes the Government and Undermines Trust

This warrantless mass surveillance of people in the United States—often capturing information on millions of innocent Americans, with disproportionate impacts on communities of color—fuels resentment against the government from both ends of the ideological spectrum.

15.01.2021 - 18:23 [ Caitlin Johnstone ]

Consent-Manufacturing For Patriot Act II Continues

As we discussed previously, Biden has often boasted of being the original author of the Patriot Act years before it was rapidly rolled out amid the fear and blind obsequiousness of the aftermath of 9/11. Now in the aftermath of the Capitol riot we are seeing a push to roll out new authoritarian laws around terrorism, this time taking aim at “domestic terror”, which were also in preparation prior to the event used to manufacture support for them.

In a new article for Washington Monthly titled “It’s Time for a Domestic Terrorism Law“, Bill Scher argues against left-wing critics of the coming laws like Glenn Greenwald and Jacobin‘s Luke Savage saying such “knee-jerk reactions” against potential authoritarian abuses fail to address the growing problem. He opens with the acknowledgement that “Joe Biden’s transition team was already working on a domestic terrorism law before the insurrection,” and then he just keeps on writing as though that’s not weird or suspicious in any way.

13.08.2020 - 14:49 [ Radio Utopie ]

Terrorgesetze die „eigentlich hätten geprüft werden müssen“ bis 2021 verlängert

(16.November 2015)

Am 5. November verlängerte der fast leere Bundestag das Artikel 10-Gesetz, das Bundesverfassungsschutzgesetz, das BND-Gesetz, das Bundeskriminalamtgesetz, das MAD-Gesetz, das Sicherheitsüberprüfungsgesetz und das Straßenverkehrsgesetz in seiner jetzigen Form bis zum Jahre 2021. Alle Gesetze wären sonst in ihrer jetzigen Form am 10. Januar 2016 ausgelaufen.

Keiner der wenigen anwesenden Abgeordneten erwähnte das tatsächliche Ausmaß dieses Vorgangs auch nur mit einem Wort.

Nötig für diese multiple Regeneration des geheimdienstlichen Komplexes, in seiner ganzen interaktiven Rückwirkung, Interaktion und wechselwirkenden Gesetzgebung, explizit mit der „Telekommunikations-Überwachungsverordnung“ (TKÜV) (wir berichteten), war die Verlängerung eines einzigen Gesetzes: des Ende 2006 beschlossenen „Terrorismusbekämpfungsergänzungsgesetzes“, Nachfolger des „Terrorismusbekämpfungsgesetzes“, welches das Parlament als Pendant zum „Patriot Act“ nach den gerichtlich nie untersuchten Attentaten vom 11. September 2001 in New York und Washington auf Vorschlag von S.P.D. und Bündnis 90/Die Grünen durchgewunkenen hatte.

Effektiv war dieser deutsche „Patriot Act“ aus 2001 bereits zweimal verlängert worden: Ende 2006 für fünf Jahre Jahre und Ende 2011 für 4 Jahre. Auch dieses Prinzip von Installation und Verlängerungen über mehrere Jahre folgte systemisch den Vorgaben aus dem geheimdienstlichen Komplex der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und seinem „Patriot Act“.

28.05.2020 - 22:33 [ Evan Greer / Twitter ]

Here‘s what‘s happening: late last night @SpeakerPelosi attempted to ram through a reauthorization of #FISA and #PatriotAct surveillance authorities. But she had to cancel the vote at the last minute when it became clear she didn‘t have even close to enough votes to pass it.

She‘s trying to blame that on Trump tweeting about it, but the reality is that the vote was going to fail anyway because the entire Congressional Progressive Caucus (nearly 100 member of the House) came out against the bill after Pelosi let @RepAdamSchiff
gut a privacy amendment

Now @SpeakerPelosi
is trying to do an end-run around her own party and is going to attempt to sneak the reauthorization through by using an obscure congressional mechanism to reconcile a previous version of the bill the House passed with the version the Senate passed.

28.05.2020 - 22:29 [ Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America / Twitter ]

Thank you to our GREAT Republican Congressmen & Congresswomen on your incredibly important blockage last night of a FISA Bill that would just perpetuate the abuse that produced the Greatest Political Crime In the History of the U.S., the Russian Witch-Hunt. Fantastic Job!

28.05.2020 - 22:26 [ ]

The House just ditched a bill that would renew and expand the FBI‘s surveillance powers after Trump threatened to veto it

The House of Representatives abandoned a plan to pass a reauthorization of the Patriot Act Thursday after President Donald Trump tweeted that he would veto the bill if it passes.

28.05.2020 - 22:18 [ CommonDreams.org ]

‚Just Let the Patriot Act Die You Cowards‘: House Lawmakers Urged to Vote Down Flawed Domestic Spy Bill

(27.05.2020)

As Common Dreams reported earlier, House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Adam Schiff was a target of specific ire for his role in sabotaging the amendment which sought to strengthen the bill‘s privacy protections and judicial oversight. As Gizmodo‘s Dell Cameron remarked after the day‘s developments, „Although it‘s really been something of a mass delusion for a while, the idea that Democrats are somehow better than Republicans on the Fourth Amendment is, as of this week, nothing short of a joke.“

The fact that the GOP-controlled Senate has managed to pass more progressive privacy reforms than the Democratic majority in the House, which has introduced precisely none, should not go unnoticed,“ Cameron added.

27.05.2020 - 21:07 [ CNN ]

Trump tweet throws House vote on government surveillance powers into doubt

The request to shelve the vote was the latest hurdle for legislation reauthorizing authorities from the 2001 Patriot Act that‘s been squeezed both by FISA opponents who have pushed for more civil liberties protections and by the President and his allies furious over the role of the FISA court in the Russia investigation and the misconduct with warrants obtained on former Trump adviser Carter Page.

„I hope all Republican House Members vote NO on FISA until such time as our Country is able to determine how and why the greatest political, criminal, and subversive scandal in USA history took place!“ Trump tweeted on Tuesday evening.

27.05.2020 - 20:46 [ Journal-News.net ]

Handling of Flynn case should concern all Americans

Regardless of our political leanings, what happened to Michael Flynn should concern every American. While we should insist on details about his case, a more important question needs to be answered:

How many other people have been treated similarly by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies?

27.05.2020 - 20:41 [ theGreggJarrett.com ]

Former CBS Reporter One Of The First ‘To Identify Myself As A Target of Illegal Spying Under Obama Admin’

“I believe many, many others were spied on but do not know” said Attkisson. “It was only thanks to help from intelligence contacts that I even learned that government agents were spying me. Otherwise, I never suspected it or would have known.”

27.05.2020 - 20:27 [ Warren Davidson, U.S. Congressman serving Ohio's 8th District. Constitutionalist and former Army Ranger / Twitter ]

Intel & war hawks fight to keep mass surveillance of American citizens in place, and keep America in more wars in more places. Now they want to stop reforms from becoming law so they can preserve the broken status quo. We need @realDonaldTrump to support these reforms & more.

27.05.2020 - 20:01 [ CBS News ]

House to vote on reauthorizing expired surveillance powers

The House is expected to vote on a bill reauthorizing expired national security surveillance authorities on Wednesday afternoon in a vote by proxy, a controversial rule change which allows members to vote on behalf of their absent colleagues. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pull the bill reauthorizing authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, arguing that voting by proxy is unconstitutional.

26.05.2020 - 15:23 [ the Hill ]

This week: Surveillance fight sets early test for House‘s proxy voting

The bill initially passed the House in a 278-136 vote in March. But the Senate amended the measure to add more legal protections for certain individuals targeted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The changes forces it to be bounced back to the House, which will need to pass it a second time.

Under a deal struck with leadership, the House is expected to consider an amendment, brought by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), that would block law enforcement from being able to access web browsing data without a warrant.

19.05.2020 - 20:31 [ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ]

Coalition Letter to House Leadership Concerning Wyden-Daines Amendment to USA Freedom Reauthorization Act

Indeed, this would help address serious concerns among the public that civil liberties are at a heightened riskduring this time of crisis. This is an acute concern for the many groups that the FBI has wrongfully targeted in thepast, including activists, communities of color, and the press.With ample support for this measure secured in the Senate, the decision to seize this moment in defense ofAmericans’ civil liberties is exclusively in your hands.

19.05.2020 - 20:17 [ National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) ]

NCAC Urges Speaker Pelosi to Support Critical Change to Patriot Act

NCAC has joined a coalition of more than 50 civil liberties, civil rights and government transparency organizations in urging Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress to include civil liberties reforms in the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2020, a bill that would extend surveillance provisions of the Patriot Act which expired in March.

The coalition’s letter to Speaker Pelosi calls for support of the Wyden-Daines amendment to the bill, which prohibits the government from surveilling the internet search and browsing history of people in the United States without a warrant. The Patriot Act was never intended to allow the FBI to warrantlessly spy on our search and browsing history – and that is squarely the question before Speaker Pelosi.

This reform is designed to stave off the kind of scandals that led to a dramatic loss of trust in United States intelligence agencies over the past two decades.

18.05.2020 - 19:31 [ PrivateInternetAccess.com ]

Tell your House Representative to vote against letting the FBI access internet history without a warrant

The Patriot Act is up for renewal with the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act and this bill as-is allows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to access your internet history without a warrant. Under this new law, all the DOJ has to do is claim that an American citizen is tangentially related to an ongoing investigation and they’d be able to access your internet history that is stored with your internet service provider (ISP) – this gross privacy violating power must be stopped. The bill is currently in the House of Representatives and could be voted on as soon as next week.

18.05.2020 - 19:26 [ Vox.com ]

The Senate voted to let the government keep surveilling your online life without a warrant

(14.05.2020)

Many senators wanted to forbid the government from secretly collecting information about your internet habits, but an amendment failed by just one vote.

16.05.2020 - 10:13 [ Radio Utopie ]

Geheimdienste-Ausschuss-Vorsitzender: U.S.-Dienste sammelten „versehentlich Informationen über U.S. Bürger im Trump Team“

(23.03.2017)

Am 12. März äußerte sich dann jemand, der Ahnung hat: Rand Paul. In der „CBS“-Sendung „Face the Nation“ rückte Rand Paul, unter vielem Hin und Her und Ach und jaa-nee, endlich mit der Sprache heraus (Links wurden hinzugefügt):

„Der Weg wie es funktioniert ist – das F.I.S.A.-Gericht, mittels Section 702 (Anm.: vom Patriot Act), hört Ausländer ab und hört dann Amerikanern zu. Es ist eine Durchleuchtung von Amerikanern durch die Hintertür. Und weil sie so viele Daten haben, können sie abhören — tippen sie Donald Trump in ihre gewaltigen Ressourcen (Anm.: Datenbanken) über Leute ein, die sie in Übersee abhören, und sie kriegen alle seine Telefonanrufe.

Und so haben sie das mit Präsident Obama gemacht. Sie — eintausendzweihundertsiebenundzwanzig Mal haben sie Präsident Obamas Telefonanrufe belauscht. Dann maskieren sie ihn (Anm.: anonymisieren seine Daten). Aber hier ist das Problem. Und General Hayden hat dies am anderen Tag gesagt. Er sagte, sogar niedere Angestellte können den Anrufer demaskieren (Anm.: die Daten wieder einer bestimmten Person zuordnen). Das ist vermutlich dass, was Flynn passiert ist.

Sie zielen nicht auf Amerikaner. Sie zielen auf Ausländer. Aber sie tun das absichtlich, um an Amerikaner heran zu kommen.“

16.05.2020 - 09:23 [ JustTheNews.com ]

Making of a myth: Timeline of media‘s role in selling ‚Trump-Russia collusion‘ tale

Nov. 18, 2016:

Trump announces Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as his choice for National Security Adviser. Over the next few weeks, Flynn communicates with numerous international leaders.

Nov. 30 – Dec. 28, 2016:

Two dozen Obama administration officials make requests to unmask the name of National Security Adviser designee Flynn, who was „incidentally“ captured by intel surveillance. The officials include: U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and CIA Director John Brennan.

Jan. 5, 2017:

Obama chief of staff Denis McDonough requests Flynn unmasking.

Intelligence Community leadership, including FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, CIA Director Brennan and Director of National Intelligence Clapper, provides classified briefing to President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and National Security Adviser Susan Rice on alleged Russia hacking during 2016 campaign, according to notes later written by Rice.

After briefing, according to Rice’s notes, President Obama convenes Oval Office meeting with her, Comey, Biden, and Yates. The „Steele dossier“ is reportedly discussed. Also reportedly discussed: Flynn‘s intercepted talks with Russia‘s ambassador.

16.05.2020 - 08:37 [ The Hill / Youtube ]

Saagar Enjeti: BOMBSHELL reveals Biden at center of Obamagate, media ignores

Saagar blasts Joe Biden for being among the Obama administration officials who „unmasked“ former national security adviser Michael Flynn, despite his wavering stance on involvement in the prosecution.

15.05.2020 - 16:00 [ The Hill / Twitter ]

Sen. @RandPaul : „The PATRIOT Act in the end is not patriotic.“

15.05.2020 - 15:53 [ Vox.com ]

The Senate voted to let the government keep surveilling your online life without a warrant

The measure needed 60 votes to pass. It got 59.

The outcome is especially frustrating since four senators didn’t vote on the amendment at all, and at least one would have voted yes. Lamar Alexander couldn’t vote because he’s quarantined. Two others — Ben Sasse and Bernie Sanders — didn’t respond to request for comment on where they were during the vote. An aide told Politico that Patty Murray would have voted yes had she been there, but the senator was not in Washington, DC, when the vote occurred.

15.05.2020 - 15:32 [ Fox News ]

Rand Paul on Flynn unmasking: Biden committed ‚devastating abuse of power‘

‚It amounts to illegally eavesdropping for political purposes‘ says Rand Paul discussing new information that Obama officials unmasked Michael Flynn

14.05.2020 - 23:17 [ Real Clear Politics ]

Rand Paul: „Vice President Biden Is Guilty Of Using Government To Go After A Political Opponent“

Sen. Rand Paul called for acting Director of National Intelligence Rick Grenell to testify about a list of Obama administration officials, including Obama and Biden, involved in the „unmasking“ of then-incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn‘s communications after the 2016 election.

Speaking to members of the press, Paul also said he wanted testimony from the officials on the list, including James Comey and James Clapper.

14.05.2020 - 23:00 [ AJC.com ]

‘He knew everything’: Trump demands that Obama testify in Flynn case

“Here is the concern: If you don’t have a national security reason, you’re basically spying on a political opponent,” the South Carolina Republican said on the news show.

“What is the national security reason to unmask Gen. Flynn in transition? I can’t think of one. But, I do believe, given their behavior, they’re looking to get rid of Flynn and if they used our intelligence apparatus to basically act on a political vendetta, that’s chilling to every American and would be very wrong.”

14.05.2020 - 22:56 [ Wall Street Journal ]

More Than a Dozen Obama Officials Requested ‘Unmasking’ That Identified Michael Flynn in Intelligence Reports

The list includes then-Vice President Joe Biden and former CIA Director John Brennan; the requests came after Russian interference in U.S. election.

14.05.2020 - 22:48 [ Fox News ]

Unmasking’ requests number in thousands across administrations, as pols demand details

The numbers reflect how frequently national security and intelligence officials use this tool in their work. Unmasking occurs after U.S. citizens‘ conversations are incidentally picked up in conversations with foreign officials who are being monitored by the intelligence community. The U.S. citizens‘ identities are supposed to be protected if their participation is incidental and no wrongdoing is suspected. However, officials can determine the U.S. citizens‘ names through a process that is supposed to safeguard their rights. In the typical process, when officials are requesting the unmasking of an American, they do not necessarily know the identity of the person in advance.

13.05.2020 - 09:39 [ The Hill / Youtube ]

Saagar Enjeti: Obamagate is real and the media can‘t just ignore it

Saagar Enjeti blasts former President Obama after it was revealed in transcripts he was the person who told then-deputy attorney general Sally Yates about Mike Flynn‘s intercepted phone call with the Russian ambassador, Joe Biden responds to Flynn claims on Good Morning America.

13.05.2020 - 09:27 [ Fox News ]

Grenell declassifies names of Obama officials who ‘unmasked’ Flynn

Another source familiar with the intelligence told Fox News that Grenell is moving to declassify several pieces of intelligence in stages, with this being one part of it. Asked if former President Barack Obama‘s name is on the list of officials involving in unmasking Flynn, the source would not say but stressed the list would make waves.

13.05.2020 - 09:22 [ Wall Street Journal ]

Intelligence Chief Declassifies Names of Obama Officials Who ‘Unmasked’ Flynn

President Trump’s top intelligence adviser has declassified and may release the names of Obama administration officials who requested the “unmasking” of former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, an action that identified him from intelligence reports following Mr. Trump’s election in 2016, a senior government official said.

Release of the list, which would be an unprecedented move, is likely to resurrect a partisan debate over an episode that had roiled the early days of Mr. Trump’s presidency …

13.05.2020 - 09:22 [ FoxWilmington.com ]

Rand Paul, citing Flynn case, proposes FISA amendment to curb surveillance of Americans

Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday introduced an amendment to the House-passed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to protect Americans’ privacy, citing the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn as an example of “abuse” and saying it “should never be allowed to happen again.”

Paul, R-Ky., who is an outspoken advocate for privacy reforms, proposed an amendment to the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020 – which passed the House on a bipartisan basis earlier this year – to protect Americans’ privacy, ensure due process and “reassert the Fourth Amendment.”

10.05.2020 - 16:53 [ the Hill ]

Senate revives surveillance brawl

The Senate is set to revive a fight over a shadowy surveillance court, bringing to a head a months-long stalemate that resulted in the lapse of three intelligence programs.

The looming debate, which will pit some of President Trump’s biggest allies against one another, comes on the heels of growing questions about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court after the Justice Department inspector general found widespread errors as part of an interim report on warrant applications.

10.05.2020 - 04:59 [ the Hill ]

McConnell urges Senate to reject changes to House-passed surveillance bill

(07.05.2020)

Under a deal struck by Senate leadership, senators will vote on three amendments: One from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) preventing FISA warrants from being used against Americans, one from Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on appointing outside advisers, and one from Sens. Steve Daines (R-Mont) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to prevent law enforcement from obtaining internet browsing and search history without a warrant.

10.05.2020 - 04:51 [ Reason.com ]

FISA Surveillance and Possible Reforms Are Back on the Senate‘s Agenda

(07.05.2020)

Next week the Senate is poised to resurrect some federal surveillance powers that expired in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. A handful of senators are hoping to force through reforms to better protect Americans‘ privacy.

10.05.2020 - 04:09 [ the Hill ]

FBI director in ‚hot seat‘ as GOP demands reforms

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Judiciary Committee with oversight of the FBI, noted that “we’ve got a problem at the FBI.”

“Clearly, we had some people, and maybe still have some people, that don’t understand the rule of law, and nothing’s been done,“ Kennedy said.

14.04.2020 - 14:23 [ Caitlin Johnstone ]

This Absolute Bullshit Would Not Be Possible Without Propaganda

Joe Biden has been a horrible, evil politician since long before his rape allegations went mainstream and his brain started turning to porridge. If people could gaze with fresh, unmanipulated eyes upon someone who’s dedicated his entire political career to neoliberal exploitation at home and neoconservative mass murder abroad, someone who openly boasts about authoring the foundational documents of the USA PATRIOT Act, someone who promises rich donors that “nothing fundamentally will change” if he’s elected and who they know from experience can be taken at his word, it would never occur to them that this is someone who should be running for any elected office anywhere, let along within spitting distance of the most powerful one in the world.

It is only by the ability of the mass media to manufacture the illusion of normality that this bullshit has been made possible.

13.04.2020 - 12:58 [ Chuck Grassley, US Senator ]

FBI Ignored Early Warnings that Debunked Anti-Trump Dossier was Russian Disinformation

WASHINGTON – The “central and essential” evidence used to justify invasive surveillance of an American citizen in the FBI’s probe into Russian interference was, itself, an example of Russian interference, according to once-secret footnotes declassified at the urging of two U.S. Senators. The footnotes, part of the Justice Department Inspector General’s postmortem of the FBI’s flawed operation to spy on Trump campaign aide Carter Page, were released just hours after Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) renewed their push for transparency. The senators expect a fuller declassification in the coming days.

(…)

“It’s ironic that the Russian collusion narrative was fatally flawed because of Russian disinformation. These footnotes confirm that there was a direct Russian disinformation campaign in 2016, and there were ties between Russian intelligence and a presidential campaign – the Clinton campaign, not Trump’s.”

The IG report detailed how the FBI’s application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to spy on Page relied heavily on an unverified dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele on behalf of Fusion GPS, which was conducting opposition research for the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee. According to Footnote 302, in October 2016, FBI investigators learned that one of Steele’s main sources was linked to the Russian Intelligence Service (RIS), and was rumored to be a former KGB/SVR officer. However, the FBI neglected to include this information in its application, which the FISA court approved that same month. Two months later, investigators learned that Glenn Simpson, the head of Fusion GPS, told a Justice Department attorney that he assessed the same source “was a RIS officer who was central in connecting Trump to Russia.” In January, the FISA warrant was renewed.

13.04.2020 - 12:12 [ Ron Johnson, US Senator / Wall Street Journal ]

Russian Disinformation Fed the FBI’s Trump Investigation

(10.04.2020)

Declassified footnotes to a Justice Department inspector general report show that the Federal Bureau of Investigation team investigating members of the Trump campaign received classified reports in 2017 identifying key pieces of the Steele dossier as products of a Russian disinformation campaign. This might be only the tip of the iceberg because other recently declassified information demonstrates that even more disinformation may have been planted in Christopher Steele’s reporting.

13.04.2020 - 11:54 [ Radio Utopie ]

Es sind natürlich die U.S.-Geheimdienste, die Trump erpressen (wollen)

(11. Januar 2017)

So etwas ist noch nie passiert. Die gesamte Situation ist präzedenzlos.

Das angeblich belastende Material, wie beschrieben angeblich von irgendeinem britischen Agenten, etc, ist bereits gestern auf Buzzfeed veröffentlicht worden. Es ist dermaßen ekelhaft, dass es einem die Schuhe auszieht. Und es wird mir schlecht, wenn ich sehe wie die Leute auf Twitter darauf reagieren. Offensichtlich wurde diese Fälschung, die als solche u.a. von Gateway Pundit und Wikileaks identifiziert wurde, nur mit einem Ziel entworfen: Trump anzuschießen und zwar so, dass er nie wieder aufsteht.

Trumps Reaktion ist, nun ja, fast etwas verwirrt. Im Laufe des heutigen Tages hielt er seine Pressekonferenz als gewählter Präsident ab. Allen Anwesenden war, nach meinem Eindruck, eine Art Schock über die Situation ins Gesicht geschrieben. Selbst der bemühte, ab und an aufbrandende Beifall änderte nichts an der gespenstischen Situation.

Während der Pressekonferenz übernahm Trump einerseits zum ersten Mal die Position der C.I.A. und äußerte hastig zwischen zwei Sätzen zur Frage, wer verantwortlich sei für den angeblichen Hack gegen die Parteizentrale der „Demokraten“ („Democratic National Committee“, D.N.C.),

„Ich glaube, es war Russland“ („I believe, it was Russia“)

Gegen Mittag hatte Trump andererseits zu dem veröffentlichten „belastenden Material“ getwittert:

„(Die) Geheimdienste hätten niemals erlauben sollen, dass diese Fake News an die Öffentlichkeit ´geleaked´ werden. Ein letzter Schuss gegen mich. Leben wir in Nazi-Deutschland?“

13.04.2020 - 11:41 [ Daily Caller ]

Oleg Deripaska Says He Hired Christopher Steele To Work On Research Project

(July 2, 2019)

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska said he previously employed Christopher Steele, the author of the Trump dossier.
Deripaska said he hired Steele through his attorneys in London to work on an unspecific legal proceeding.
Steele investigated the Trump campaign on behalf of the Clinton campaign and DNC.

13.04.2020 - 11:31 [ CBS News ]

Footnotes in watchdog report indicate FBI knew of risk of Russian disinformation in Steele dossier

(10.04.2020)

Footnote 350 in the IG report addresses the FBI‘s knowledge of Russian contacts with Steele and the potential for disinformation. Steele had „frequent contacts with representatives for multiple Russian oligarchs, we identified reporting the Crossfire Hurricane team received from (redacted) indicating the potential for Russian disinformation influencing Steele‘s election reporting.“

The footnote also indicates that warnings to the FBI‘s Russia probe became more pronounced over time.

13.04.2020 - 11:28 [ Washington Post ]

4 takeaways from the brutal new report on FBI surveillance

(31.03.2020)

The FBI’s surveillance of Americans including former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page isn’t exactly the issue du jour amid a global pandemic. But on Tuesday, a brutal inspector general’s report suggested that this will be something that the bureau and Congress will have to reckon with in the near future.

02.04.2020 - 20:30 [ theHill.com ]

Glenn Greenwald warns government is expanding power amid coronavirus

Greenwald also noted that proponents of the Patriot Act in the wake of 9/11 had assured civil libertarians the law had a sunset provision. Yet, the law remains in effect nearly two decades later as a “permanent part of our political framework.”

“That is the great concern, how do you temporarily vest power in the hands of the state that might be necessary to preserve these liberties in the long term without simultaneously giving them those powers realistically even if you intend for it to be temporary in a way that becomes permanent?” he added.

01.04.2020 - 13:46 [ Stephen Lendman / GlobalResearch.ca ]

COVID-19 and Economic Duress: A Pretext to Enhance Police State Powers? Suspension of Constitutional Rights During COVID-19?

Crises are times when ruling authorities convince people to sacrifice personal freedoms for greater security — not realizing that both will be lost.

Ruling authorities take advantage of times like now by instituting draconian policies they’re unable to introduce during normal times without risking mass rebellion.