Government’s “Secret Interpretation” of Patriot Act: “EVERYTHING” Is Relevant … So Spy on EVERYONE
Government’s Interpretation of Spying Turns 200 Years of American Law On Its Head. - Senators Wyden and Udall – both on the Senate Intelligence Committee, with full access to information on the spying program – have said that for at least 2 years that the government was using a “secret interpretation” of the Patriot Act which would shock Americans, because it provides a breathtakingly wide program of spying. And see this. Wyden and Udall said that they couldn’t reveal to the public – or even other members of Congress who lack top security clearance – what the secret interpretation is … and that most Congress members were totally ignorant about it.
Peter Casey: Making Tyranny ‘Legal’ - Since the Guardian’s publication of the "telephone metadata" order, courtesy of Edward Snowden, the law professoriate et al. have been speculating about a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s "secret" opinion that would explain the seemingly inexplicable – how the National Security Agency legally can obtain in real time a record of every single telephone call made to, from and within the United States of America? Days after the June 5 story, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion asking the Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA) court to unseal the secret "legal interpretations" underlying the order. The ACLU argued that publication of the court’s interpretation of Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, the "business records" statute cited by the order for its authority, "would benefit the public interest immensely" and permit it "to more fully understand the order’s meaning and to contribute to the ongoing debate." So far, the secret opinion has remained Secret.