DOCSLIB.ORG

The Protect America Act: One Nation Under Surveillance

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Protect America Act: One Nation Under Surveillance Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review Volume 29 Number 1 Symposium: Soft Money 4 Article 5 9-1-2008 The Protect America Act: One Nation under Surveillance Shahab Mossavar-Rahmani Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/elr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Shahab Mossavar-Rahmani, The Protect America Act: One Nation under Surveillance, 29 Loy. L.A. Ent. L. Rev. 133 (2008). Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/elr/vol29/iss1/5 This Notes and Comments is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PROTECT AMERICA ACT: ONE NATION UNDER GOD SURVEILLANCE I. INTRODUCTION Early in the morning on December 16, 2005, people across the United States awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and learned that their own government had been spying on them for over three years.1 A New York Times (Times) article revealed that President George W. Bush authorized a secret wiretapping program for the National Security Agency (NSA) in the months following the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks.2 Current and former officials from the Bush Administration discussed the story with journalists from the Times because these officials had legitimate concerns about the legality and oversight of the operation. According to the Times article, "the intelligence agency ha[d] monitored the international telephone calls... of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants" and eavesdropped "on up to 500 people in the United States at any given time."4 In the weeks and months following the publication of the Times article, the Bush Administration conducted damage control, often appearing in the media to assert the program's legality.5 The Bush Administration even claimed that domestic surveillance was necessary to combat terrorism 6 (although this argument has not been frequently 1. James Risen & Eric Lichtblau, Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts, N.Y. TIMES, Dec. 16, 2005, at Al. 2. Id. 3. Id. 4. Id. 5. See, e.g., Eric Lichtblau & Adam Liptak, Bush and His Senior Aides Press On in Legal Defense for Wiretapping Program,N.Y. TIMES, Jan. 28, 2006, at A13; Press Release, Office of the Press Secretary, Press Briefing by Attorney Gen. Alberto Gonzales and Gen. Michael Hayden, Principal Deputy Dir. for Nat'l Intelligence (Dec. 19, 2005), http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051219-1 .html [hereinafter Gonzales & Hayden]; Eric Lichtblau & David E. Sanger, Administration Cites War Vote in Spying Case, N.Y. TIMES, Dec. 20, 2005, at Al; Eric Lichtblau & James Risen, Top Aide Defends Domestic Spying, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 7, 2006, at Al. 6. Michele Norris, Gonzales: Spying Covered by Force Authorization, NPR, Jan. 24, 2006, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=5170875. 134 LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW [Vol. 29:133 asserted). The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) asserted two legal foundations to support the President's authorization of the NSA program: (1) an inherent constitutional power and (2) an express power granted by Congress when it enacted the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to combat terrorism.7 A mere eight days after it first exposed the NSA program, the Times published another article revealing that the NSA was able to monitor and gather information on millions of people because it gained the cooperation of major American telecommunications companies.8 The Times reported that these companies allowed the NSA "to obtain backdoor access to streams of domestic and international communications. ...9 Soon after the Times published the article, civil liberties groups flooded companies like AT&T and Verizon with lawsuits. One such group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), alleged that AT&T had "opened its key telecommunications facilities and databases to direct access by the NSA and/or other government agencies, intercepting and disclosing to the government the contents of its customers' communications as well as detailed communications records about millions of its customers ....10 Based on the value of the claims asserted, these companies faced potential bankruptcy if left to fend for themselves."1 Initially, the Bush Administration intervened in these suits by asserting the state secrets' 3 privilege.' 2 Sometimes referred to as the "nuclear bomb of legal tactics,"' the state secrets privilege effectively prevents any disclosure of evidence that the government deems a threat to national security. 14 However, the 7. U.S. DEP'T OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AUTHORITIES SUPPORTING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE NAT'L SEC. AGENCY DESCRIBED BY THE PRESIDENT, 1, 6-7, (2006), http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/whitepaperonnsalegalauthorities.pdf [hereinafter DOJ WHITEPAPER]. 8. Eric Lichtblau & James Risen, Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report, N.Y. TIMES, Dec. 24, 2005, at Al [hereinafter Lichtblau & Risen, Spy Agency]. 9. Id. 10. See Amended Complaint for Damages at 6, Hepting v. AT&T Corp., 439 F. Supp. 2d 974 (N.D. Cal. 2006) (No. C-06-0672-JCS). 11. Chris Roberts, Transcript:Debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, EL PASO TIMES, Aug. 22, 2007, available at http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_6685679; James Risen & Eric Lichtblau, Ex- Worker atAT&TFights Immunity Bill, N.Y. TIMES, Nov. 7, 2007, at A22. 12. John Markoff, U.S. Steps Into Wiretap Suit Against A T&T, N.Y. TIMES, Apr. 29, 2006, at A9. 13. Steven Aftergood, State Secrets Privilege Gets a Workout, FED'N AM. SCIENTISTS, Apr. 23, 2002, available at http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/2002/04/042302.html. 14. See Terkel v. AT&T Corp., 441 F. Supp. 2d 899, 917 (N.D. Il1. 2006); Carrie Newton Lyons, The State Secrets Privilege: Expanding its Scope Through Government Misuse, 11 LEWIS & CLARK L. REV. 99, 104, 109 (2007); Bernard Hibbitts, DOJ Wants NSA WiretappingSuits Dismissed on State Secrets Basis, JURIST, May 28, 2006, http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/05/doj-wants-nsa-wiretapping-suits.php. 2008] ONE NATION UNDER GOD SURVEILLANCE Bush Administration sought a more permanent solution15 after one federal 16 court declined to apply the privilege,17 and another federal court held that the NSA violated the Constitution. The ironically titled Protect America Act of 2007 (PAA) 18 is the focus of the ongoing debate on whether the Bush Administration sacrificed individuals' fundamental liberties in exchange for domestic security. 19 The PAA amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA),2 ° and effectively removed the system of checks and balances on the Executive Branch's authority to wiretap international phone calls.2 1 Conveniently, the PAA also included an immunity provision that shielded telecommunications companies from any future lawsuits.22 Because the provision only granted immunity from future suits, the Bush Administration continued to publicly condemn Congress' resistance to a retroactive application of the immunity provision.23 Congress eventually passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA), which includes a retroactive immunity clause.24 On one hand, proponents such as Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence, argue that the PAA is vital to early detection of terrorist plots, and that "our intelligence professionals [are] 'missing a significant amount of foreign intelligence"' without the legislation.25 On the other hand, critics, such as the American Civil Liberties Union 15. Press Release, Office of the Press Sec'y, Fact Sheet: Congress Must Act Now to Keep a Critical Intelligence Gap Closed (Jan. 22, 2008), http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/20080122-2.html. 16. John Markoff, Judge Declines to Dismiss Privacy Suit Against AT&T, N.Y. TIMES, July 21, 2006, at A13. 17. ACLU v. NSA, 438 F. Supp. 2d 754, 782 (E.D. Mich. 2006). 18. Protect America Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-55, §105(b), 121 Stat. 552 (2007). 19. See Risen & Lichtblau, supra note 1. 20. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, 50 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1811 (2008). 21. American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU Fact Sheet on the "Police America Act", http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nsaspying/31203res20070807.html (last visited Sept. 14, 2007) [hereinafter FactSheet]. 22. Protect America Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-55, 121 Stat. 552 (2007). 23. Press Release, Office of the Press Sec'y, President Bush Discusses Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Legislation (Oct. 10, 2007), http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/nationalsecurity/; Roberts, supra note 11; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and ProtectAmerica Act: Hearing Before the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 110th Cong. 9 (2007) (statement of J. Michael McConnell, Dir. of Nat'l Intelligence). 24. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-261, 122 Stat. 2436 (2008). 25. Press Release, Office of the Press Sec'y, Fact Sheet: The Protect America Act of 2007 (Aug. 6, 2007), http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070806-5.html [hereinafter Press Release]. 136 LOYOLA OF LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW [Vol. 29:133 (ACLU), argue that the legislation allows for a massive collection of data without any oversight by the courts or Congress.26 Some Democrats, like Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, claimed that the passage of the PAA was politically motivated 27 because Democrats faced their first election year in 2008 after they gained control of Congress in 2006. One political commentator seemed to agree with Feingold's assessment when he claimed that Democrats feared "appearing weak on national security issues" and wanted to avoid spending the August recess defending themselves from Republican accusations that they "left Americans exposed to threats., 28 As one Internet blogger wrote, "the Democrats can rest easily over the August recess, knowing that they haven't left themselves vulnerable to political attacks.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • United States Court of Appeals for the SECOND CIRCUIT
    Case 14-2985, Document 88, 12/15/2014, 1393895, Page1 of 64 14-2985-cv IN THE United States Court of Appeals FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT In the Matter ofd a Warrant to Search a Certain E-mail Account Controlled and Maintained by Microsoft Corporation, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, Appellant, —v.— UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee. ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPPORT OF APPELLANT LAURA R. HANDMAN ALISON SCHARY DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006 (202) 973-4200 Attorneys for Amici Curiae Media Organizations Case 14-2985, Document 88, 12/15/2014, 1393895, Page2 of 64 OF COUNSEL Indira Satyendra David Vigilante John W. Zucker CABLE NEWS NETWORK , INC . ABC, INC . One CNN Center 77 West 66th Street, 15th Floor Atlanta, GA 30303 New York, NY 10036 Counsel for Cable News Network, Counsel for ABC, Inc. Inc. Richard A. Bernstein Andrew Goldberg SABIN , BERMANT & GOULD LLP THE DAILY BEAST One World Trade Center 555 West 18th Street 44th Floor New York, New York 10011 New York, NY 10007 Counsel for The Daily Beast Counsel for Advance Publications, Company LLC Inc. Matthew Leish Kevin M. Goldberg Cyna Alderman FLETCHER HEALD & HILDRETH NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 1300 North 17th Street, 11th Floor 4 New York Plaza Arlington, VA 22209 New York, NY 10004 Counsel for the American Counsel for Daily News, L.P. Society of News Editors and the Association of Alternative David M. Giles Newsmedia THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY 312 Walnut St., Suite 2800 Scott Searl Cincinnati, OH 45202 BH MEDIA GROUP Counsel for The E.W.
    [Show full text]
  • RCFP Comment on Rule 41
    February 17, 2015 1156 15th St. NW, Suite 1250 Washington, D.C. 20005 Members of the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules (202) 795-9300 www.rcfp.org Bruce D. Brown Re: Comment of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on Executive Director [email protected] (202) 795-9301 the Proposed Amendment to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 STEERING COMMITTEE Concerning “Remote Access” Searches of Electronic Storage Media and STEPHEN J. ADLER Electronic Information Reuters SCOTT APPLEWHITE The Associated Press The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (“Reporters WOLF BLITZER CNN Committee”) appreciates this opportunity to comment on the proposed DAVID BOARDMAN Temple University amendment to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure CHIP BOK concerning “remote access” searches of computers and other electronic Creators Syndicate JAN CRAWFORD devices. The amendment was proposed by the Department of Justice and CBS News 1 MICHAEL DUFFY modified by the Committee in April 2014. Time RICHARD S. DUNHAM Tsinghua University, Beijing The Reporters Committee is a voluntary, unincorporated association ASHLEA EBELING Forbes Magazine of reporters and editors dedicated to safeguarding the First Amendment rights SUSAN GOLDBERG and freedom of information interests of the news media and the public. The National Geographic FRED GRAHAM Reporters Committee has provided assistance, guidance, and research in First Founding Member JOHN C. HENRY Amendment and freedom of information litigation since 1970. The Reporters Freelance Committee frequently represents the interests of the press and the public NAT HENTOFF United Media Newspaper Syndicate before Article III courts. The Reporters Committee is concerned that the JEFF LEEN The Washington Post proposed amendment to Rule 41 would intrude on vital constitutional and DAHLIA LITHWICK statutory rights protecting the news media and the free press.
    [Show full text]
  • Legal Dilemmas Facing White House Counsel in the Trump Administration: the Costs of Public Disclosure of Fisa Requests
    LEGAL DILEMMAS FACING WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL IN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: THE COSTS OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF FISA REQUESTS Peter Margulies* INTRODUCTION Not every presidential administration can forge a new brand of government lawyering. Historically, government lawyering has swung between two poles: (1) dialogic lawyering, which stresses reasoned elaboration, respect for institutions, and continuity with unwritten norms embodied in past practice; and (2) insular lawyering, which entails opaque definitions, disregard of other institutions, and departures from unwritten norms.1 Because President Trump regularly signals his disdain for institutions, such as the intelligence community, and unwritten norms, such as prosecutorial independence,2 senior lawyers in the White House have added a new mode of legal representation that entails ad hoc adjustments to President Trump’s mercurial decisions and triage among the presidential decisions they will try to temper. Call it: lifeboat lawyering. Lifeboat lawyering, as practiced by Donald F. McGahn II—the first White House Counsel of the Trump administration3—and others, involves * Professor of Law, Roger Williams University School of Law. B.A., Colgate University; J.D., Columbia Law School. I thank Bob Bauer and participants at the Fordham Law Review Colloquium on The Varied Roles, Regulation, and Professional Responsibility of Government Lawyers for comments on a previous draft. For more information on the Colloquium, which was hosted by the Fordham Law Review and the Stein Center for Law and Ethics on October 12, 2018, at Fordham University School of Law, see Bruce A. Green, Lawyers in Government Service—a Foreword, 87 FORDHAM L. REV. 1791 (2019). 1. See Peter Margulies, Reforming Lawyers into Irrelevance?: Reconciling Crisis and Constraint at the Office of Legal Counsel, 39 PEPP.
    [Show full text]
  • In the Brief
    UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK IN THE MATTER OF THE SEARCH OF INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH Case No. 18-MJ-723 (PK) SPECIFIED E-MAIL ACCOUNTS UNOPPOSED BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, AND 21 MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS* IN SUPPORT OF MICROSOFT’S OBJECTIONS TO ORDER DENYING MOTION TO MODIFY SECRECY ORDER * A full list of the amici can be found in Appendix A. CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is an unincorporated association of reporters and editors with no parent corporation and no stock. ALM Media, LLC is privately owned, and no publicly held corporation owns 10% or more of its stock. The American Society of Magazine Editors is a trade association with no parent corporation and no stock. Association of Alternative Newsmedia has no parent corporation and does not issue any stock. First Look Media Works, Inc. is a nonprofit non-stock corporation organized under the laws of Delaware. No publicly-held corporation holds an interest of 10% or more in First Look Media Works, Inc. Gannett Co., Inc. is a publicly traded company and has no affiliates or subsidiaries that are publicly owned. BlackRock, Inc., a publicly traded company, owns 10 percent or more of Gannett’s stock. The International Documentary Association is a not-for-profit organization with no parent corporation and no stock. Investigative Studios, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation formally affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley. It has no statutory members and no stock. The McClatchy Company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange American under the ticker symbol MNI.
    [Show full text]
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
    08 CV 3584 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION; AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION, Plaintiffs, COMPLAINT FOR v. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, Civil Action No. Defendant. COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF I. This is an action for injunctive and other appropriate reliefunder the Freedom ofInformation Act ("ForA"), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Plaintiffs American Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (collectively "ACLU") seek the immediate processing and release ofrecords plaintiffs requested through the FOIA from defendant Federal Bureau ofInvestigation ("FBI"). 2. Plaintiffs submitted a FOIA request ("Request") to the FBI on November 29, 2007, after the Department ofDefense ("DoD") released records to the ACLU in response to a separate FOIA lawsuit that suggested the FBI may be issuing National Security Letters ("NSLs") for the military in DoD investigations. Plaintiffs' Request sought records concerning the FBI's issuance ofNSLs in non-FBI investigations or at the behest ofother agencies such as the DoD. The Request also sought records concerning the FBI's implementation and interpretation ofits power to impose non- disclosure obligations on NSL recipients since Congress amended the NSL statutes in 2006. Jurisdiction and Venue 3. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action and personal jurisdiction over the parties pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) and 5 U.S.c. § 552(a)(4)(A)(vii). This Court also has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Venue is proper in this district under 5 U.S.c.
    [Show full text]
  • Conference 2014 with Keynote Speaker Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times
    KILEAK WI S, S, W E IR N E O T R A P D P , I A N T G A , D H G A I C B K , I N A - S G N SURVEILLANCE, SECURITY AND JOURNALISMJOURNALISM ETHICSETHICS THE UW-MADISON CENTER FOR JOURNALISM ETHICS PRESENTS CONFERENCE 2014 WITH KEYNOTE SPEAKER ERIC LICHTBLAU OF THE NEW YORK TIMES MAY 2, 2014 UNION SOUTH The Center for Journalism Ethics Welcome to a day that promises to be filled with thought-provoking discus- Advisory sion of some of the most significant Board issues ever to face journalism and gov- ernment: Who has what obligations to Tom Bier whom in most appropriately resolving Kathy Bissen conflicts between the public’s need James E. Burgess for both information and privacy in a Scott Cohn self-governing society and the need Rick Fetherston to protect citizens and the state from Welcome Peter D. Fox serious harm? from Robert E. Lewis Friedland Drechsel Journalists find themselves at the cen- Martin Kaiser ter of the debate in many ways. They James E. Burgess Jeff Mayers provide a critical conduit for informa- Chair in Journalism Ethics tion the public and sometimes the Jack Mitchell government itself need to develop and John Smalley deploy sound policy. But while gathering information, journal- Carol Toussaint ists may themselves become targets of government surveil- Owen Ullmann lance. And journalists, too, engage in surveillance, since that Richard Vitkus in part is what it means to gather news. New and surrepti- tiously intrusive technological tools are available to all parties, Lee Wilkins and the very definition of journalist and journalism is in flux.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Watches the Watchmen? the Conflict Between National Security and Freedom of the Press
    WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN WATCHES WHO WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN WATCHES WHO I see powerful echoes of what I personally experienced as Director of NSA and CIA. I only wish I had access to this fully developed intellectual framework and the courses of action it suggests while still in government. —General Michael V. Hayden (retired) Former Director of the CIA Director of the NSA e problem of secrecy is double edged and places key institutions and values of our democracy into collision. On the one hand, our country operates under a broad consensus that secrecy is antithetical to democratic rule and can encourage a variety of political deformations. But the obvious pitfalls are not the end of the story. A long list of abuses notwithstanding, secrecy, like openness, remains an essential prerequisite of self-governance. Ross’s study is a welcome and timely addition to the small body of literature examining this important subject. —Gabriel Schoenfeld Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute Author of Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law (W.W. Norton, May 2010). ? ? The topic of unauthorized disclosures continues to receive significant attention at the highest levels of government. In his book, Mr. Ross does an excellent job identifying the categories of harm to the intelligence community associated NI PRESS ROSS GARY with these disclosures. A detailed framework for addressing the issue is also proposed. This book is a must read for those concerned about the implications of unauthorized disclosures to U.S. national security. —William A. Parquette Foreign Denial and Deception Committee National Intelligence Council Gary Ross has pulled together in this splendid book all the raw material needed to spark a fresh discussion between the government and the media on how to function under our unique system of government in this ever-evolving information-rich environment.
    [Show full text]
  • BEFORE the FEDERAL ELECTION Commissiol^^^;
    BEFORE THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSIOl^^^; ^016OCT'g AUn CAMPAIGN LEGAL CENTER «"»/.• 06 1411 K Street, NW—Suite 1400 Washington, DC 20005 .tf (202,7,6..200 o S m CATHERINE HINCKLEY KELLEY ^ o o -m ^^za:o 1411K Street, NW, Suite 1400 ';oo 1, rn Washington, DC 20005 JTJ CS 1,'.!m (202)736-2200 <'S-r S rm s ooo Z:;H V. MURNo. ?r—2 _1 o CORRECT THE RECORD Elizabeth Cohen, Treasurer 455 Massachusetts Avenue, NW—Suite 600 Washington, DC 20001 HILLARY FOR AMERICA Jose H. Villareal, Treasurer P.O. Box 5256 NewYork, NY 10185-5256 COft^PLAlNT 1. This coihplaint is filed pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 30109(a)(1) and is based on information providing reason to believe that Correct the Record (l.D. C00578997), a so-called "Carey" or "hybrid" committee,' has made, and Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign committee Hillary for America (l.D. C00575795) has accepted, up to $5.95 ' Pursuant to the stipulated order and consent judgment in Carey v. FEC, Civ. No. 11-259- RMC (D. D.C. 2011), political committees that provide notice to the Commission may establish one "non-contribution" bank account that accepts contributions in unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations, labor organizations and other political conunittees that may be used only for independent expenditures and not for expenditures coordinated with or in-kind contributions to candidates (i.e., a "super PAC" account), and also a separate bank account subject to contribution limits and source prohibitions for making contributions to federal candidates. See Press Release, Fed.
    [Show full text]
  • Trump, Twitter, and the Russians: the Growing Obsolescence of Federal Campaign Finance Law
    3. FINAL GAUGHAN (DO NOT DELETE) 2/27/2018 5:43 PM TRUMP, TWITTER, AND THE RUSSIANS: THE GROWING OBSOLESCENCE OF FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW ANTHONY J. GAUGHAN* I. INTRODUCTION The 2016 presidential campaign defied the conventional wisdom in virtually every regard. Donald Trump’s surprise victory disproved the polls and embarrassed the pundits in the biggest election upset since the 1948 Truman-Dewey race.1 But the 2016 election was more than a political earthquake. The campaign also made it starkly apparent that federal campaign finance law has become woefully outdated in the age of the internet, social media, and non-stop fundraising. A vestige of the post- Watergate reforms of the 1970s, the Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”) no longer adequately regulates the campaign finance world of twenty-first century American politics. The time has come for a sweeping reform and restructuring of the law. Since FECA’s adoption in the 1970s, federal campaign finance law has been built on four pillars. The first is contribution limits on donations to candidate campaigns and political party committees. Contribution limits are designed to reduce the role of money in politics by preventing large donors from corrupting elected officials. The second is the ban on foreign contributions to American political campaigns. The prohibition is intended to prevent foreign influence on American elections and to ensure that * Professor of Law, Drake University Law School; J.D. Harvard University, 2005; Ph.D. (history) University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002; M.A. Louisiana State University, 1996; B.A. University of Minnesota, 1993. The author would like to thank Paul Litton and the University of Missouri Law School faculty for very helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article that the author presented at Mizzou Law.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Galleries* Rules Governing Press Galleries
    PRESS GALLERIES* SENATE PRESS GALLERY The Capitol, Room S–316, phone 224–0241 Director.—Robert E. Petersen, Jr. Deputy Director.—S. Joseph Keenan Media Coordinators: Merri I. Baker Wendy A. Oscarson James D. Saris Amy Harkins HOUSE PRESS GALLERY The Capitol, Room H–315, phone 225–3945, 225–6722 Superintendent.—Jerry L. Gallegos Deputy Superintendent.—Justin J. Supon Assistant Superintendents: Emily T. Dupree Ric Andersen Cris M. King Lori Michelle Hodo STANDING COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENTS Curt Anderson, The Associated Press, Chairman Jake Thompson, Omaha World-Herald, Secretary James Kuhnhenn, Knight Rider William Roberts, Bloomberg News Donna M. Smith, Reuters RULES GOVERNING PRESS GALLERIES 1. Administration of the press galleries shall be vested in a Standing Committee of Cor- respondents elected by accredited members of the galleries. The Committee shall consist of five persons elected to serve for terms of two years. Provided, however, that at the election in January 1951, the three candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall serve for two years and the remaining two for one year. Thereafter, three members shall be elected in odd-numbered years and two in even-numbered years. Elections shall be held in January. The Committee shall elect its own chairman and secretary. Vacancies on the Committee shall be filled by special election to be called by the Standing Committee. 2. Persons desiring admission to the press galleries of Congress shall make application in accordance with Rule 34 of the House of Representatives, subject to the direction and control of the Speaker and Rule 33 of the Senate, which rules shall be interpreted and administered by the Standing Committee of Correspondents, subject to the review and an approval by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
    [Show full text]
  • In the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
    Case 1:18-cv-03501-JGK Document 216 Filed 01/17/19 Page 1 of 111 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE, ) Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-03501 ) JURY DEMAND Plaintiff, ) ) SECOND AMENDED v. ) COMPLAINT ) COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION; ) ACT (18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)) ARAS ISKENEROVICH AGALAROV; ) RICO (18 U.S.C. § 1962(c)) EMIN ARAZ AGALAROV; ) ) RICO CONSPIRACY (18 U.S.C. JOSEPH MIFSUD; ) § 1962(d)) WIKILEAKS; ) WIRETAP ACT (18 U.S.C. JULIAN ASSANGE; ) §§ 2510-22) DONALD J. TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT, INC.; ) ) STORED COMMUNICATIONS DONALD J. TRUMP, JR.; ) ACT (18 U.S.C. §§ 2701-12) PAUL J. MANAFORT, JR.; ) DIGITAL MILLENNIUM ROGER J. STONE, JR.; ) COPYRIGHT ACT (17 U.S.C. ) JARED C. KUSHNER; § 1201 et seq.) GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS; ) ) MISAPPROPRIATION OF TRADE RICHARD W. GATES, III; ) SECRETS UNDER THE DEFEND ) TRADE SECRETS ACT (18 U.S.C. Defendants. ) § 1831 et seq.) ) INFLUENCING OR INJURING ) OFFICER OR JUROR GENERALLY ) (18 U.S.C. § 1503) ) ) TAMPERING WITH A WITNESS, ) VICTIM, OR AN INFORMANT (18 ) U.S.C. § 1512) ) WASHINGTON D.C. UNIFORM ) TRADE SECRETS ACT (D.C. Code ) Ann. §§ 36-401 – 46-410) ) ) TRESPASS (D.C. Common Law) ) CONVERSION (D.C. Common Law) ) TRESPASS TO CHATTELS ) (Virginia Common Law) ) ) ) Case 1:18-cv-03501-JGK Document 216 Filed 01/17/19 Page 2 of 111 CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT TRESPASS TO CHATTELS (Virginia Common Law) CONVERSION (Virginia Common Law) VIRGINIA COMPUTER CRIMES ACT (Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-152.5 et seq.) 2 Case 1:18-cv-03501-JGK Document 216 Filed 01/17/19 Page 3 of 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page NATURE OF ACTION .................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Going Forward: Improving the Legal Advice of National Security Lawyers William J
    Boston College International and Comparative Law Review Volume 32 Issue 2 The Pen, the Sword, and the Waterboard: Article 7 Ethical Lawyering in the “Global War on Terroism” 5-1-2009 Going Forward: Improving the Legal Advice of National Security Lawyers William J. Dunn Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr Part of the Legal Profession Commons Recommended Citation William J. Dunn, Going Forward: Improving the Legal Advice of National Security Lawyers, 32 B.C. Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 241 (2009), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/iclr/vol32/iss2/7 This Symposium Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College International and Comparative Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GOING FORWARD: IMPROVING THE LEGAL ADVICE OF NATIONAL SECURITY LAWYERS William J. Dunn* Abstract: Attorney General Mukasey was correct when he noted that na- tional security lawyers traditionally oscillate between aggression and timid- ity. Debates about which extreme is “better,” however, miss the larger point; namely, that these cycles are driven by factors that the competent national security lawyer has a duty to understand. Such a thorough knowl- edge allows lawyers in this field to dampen the harmful oscillation and render the best legal advice possible. After identifying factors that affect the rendering of such counsel, the author makes several specific policy rec- ommendations that will assist lawyers—who are “uniquely suited to bear this responsibility” —in this critical task.
    [Show full text]