By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States of America – A US Federal Court of Appeals has ruled bulk collection of telecommunication records by the National Security Agency to be illegal. A three-judge panel in New York held Thursday the scope of the program goes beyond the authority granted by the Patriot Act, which expanded government surveillance and data collection following the September 11^th Terrorist Attacks.

Judges did not, however, address whether the bulk collection program violated the Constitution.

The 97-page ruling held that Section 215, a provision of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, cannot be legitimately interpreted to allow bulk collection of domestic calling records. The court didn’t rule on arguments raised by the American Civil Liberties Union that the program violates constitutional free-speech guarantees and protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The judges also declined to issue a court order blocking the program as Congress weighs changes to surveillance laws.

Judge Gerard Lynch, writing for a unanimous panel, said allowing the government to gather data in a blanket fashion was not consistent with the statute used to carry out the program.

“The interpretation urged by the government would require a drastic expansion of the term ‘relevance,’ not only with respect to § 215,” said Lynch, “but also as that term is construed for purposes of subpoenas, and of a number of national security-related statutes, to sweep further than those statutes have ever been thought to reach.”

The House appears ready to pass a bill which would end the government’s bulk collection of phone records. The bill, known as the U.S.A. Freedom Act, would replace the authority under Section 215 with a new program that would preserve the N.S.A.’s ability to analyze links between callers to hunt for terrorists, but keep bulk records in the hands of phone companies, rather than with the N.S.A., as is currently the situation.

Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, took to the Senate floor Thursday to fiercely defend the program and criticize the USA Freedom Act.

“According to the CIA, had these authorities been in place more than a decade ago, they would have likely prevented 9/11,” McConnell said. McConnell also criticized the USA Freedom Act as a measure that will “neither keep us safe, nor protect our privacy.”

Following the leaks by former N.S.A. intelligence contractor Edward J. Snowden, the N.S.A. has come under heightened scrutiny for its surveillance methods.

After the September 11th attacks, President George W. Bush authorized the N.S.A. to begin a group of surveillance and data-collection programs, without obeying statutory limits on government spying. In 2006, the administration persuaded a court judge to issue an order approving the bulk phone records component, based on the idea that Section 215 could be interpreted as authorizing bulk collection.

Section 215 is set to expire June 1st.

For more information, please see:

BBC US & Canada — NSA phone data collection ‘illegal’, US court rules — 7 May 2015

Bloomberg — NSA’s Bulk Collection of Telephone Data Is Ruled Illegal — 7 May 2015

New York Times — N.S.A. Collection of Bulk Call Data Is Ruled Illegal — 7 May 2015

POLITICO — Appeals court rules that NSA phone surveillance program is illegal — 7 May 2015

Washington Post — 2d Circuit holds NSA bulk data seizures unauthorized by USA Patriot Act — 7 May 2015

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – Recently, Amnesty International accused U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration of granting “de facto amnesty” to members of the CIA involved in the detention and torture of militants captured after the September 11, 2001 attacks. A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report found that the CIA had a program in place from 2002 to 2006, which involved torturing captives in secret facilities.

It has been four months since the declassification of the report summary, and the United States has yet to take active steps toward ending the impunity associated with the CIA’s detention program.

The human rights group accused the administration of failing to take active measures in addressing the issues contained in the “advanced interrogation techniques.” Amnesty researcher Naureen Shah has claimed the administration’s failure to address these problems is essentially granting immunity to all those involved from prosecution. Amnesty is urging the Justice Department to “reopen and expand its investigation” into the CIA’s secret detention and interrogation program. In addition, the group demanded that the White House disclose the names, locations and dates of operations of all secret prisons involved in the CIA’s program.

However, in a report to Reuters, Shah said that the Justice Department told the media that it has reviewed the Senate committee report and has found no new evidence of any U.S. criminal laws that were violated. Seven w. Hawkins, executive director of Amnesty International USA responded to the Justice Department’s claims, stating, “Unless the U.S. government makes a concerted effort to end the impunity associated with this secret detention program, the United States’ human rights record will remain tarnished.”

The international community has shared Amnesty International’s concerns over the failure of the United States to address the torture report. The United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emerson, has stated that the US government officials involved in the program should be prosecuted. He further stated, “The fact that the policies revealed in this report were authorized at a high level within the U.S. Government, provides no excuse whatsoever.”

For more information, please see the following:

AMNESTY USA – U.S. Inaction Following CIA Torture Report is De Facto Amnesty for Perpetrators – 21 April 2015.
THE GUARDIAN – CIA Report: ‘Torture is a Crime and Those Responsible Must be Brought to Justice‘ – 10 December 2014
REUTERS – Amnesty International Condemns U.S. Failure to Act on Torture Report – 21 April 2015.

By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America – On Friday, April 17, administration lawyers will ask s federal appeals court to lift an injunction blocking President Barack Obama’s executive action meant to help undocumented immigrants. The injunction was issued in February by a Texas-based U.S. district Court Judge, Andrew Hanen, the purpose of the injunction was to halt programs intended to shield 4.7 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Hundred of pro-immigrant advocated are expected to rally in front of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals courthouse in New Orleans where the arguments in the case are set to be heard.

The hearing before a three-judge panel, will allow lawyers for both sides to make their cases publicly. In similar cases, the appeals court will make a decision based solely on written briefs. However, because of the media attention surrounding this case, each side will have an hour to argue their case.

Government attorneys are expected to insist that the states have no right to challenge the executive actions because they will suffer no direct harm is the policies are carried out. President Obama has previously declared in November, that he was operating within his rights to take unilateral action in the face of years of refusals by congressional Republicans to change immigration laws. If the government lawyers fail to reverse the judge’s preliminary injunction, Obama’s immigration efforts could remain in legal limbo, raising doubts about whether the policies will be carried out before the president leaves office.

However, if the appeals court lifts Judge Hanen’s injunction, administration officials may quickly move to carry out the executive action. Thus, allowing millions of undocumented immigrants to begin applying for protection under a program that would allow them to remain in the country legally but would not provide a path for citizenship. If the injunction is lifted, opponents are expected to block the action by appealing to the Supreme Court.

Still, it is unclear whether the Obama administration will prevail in the Fifth Circuit, considered one of the most conservative courts in the country.

For more information, please see the following:

HUFFINGTON POST –Immigration Fight Heads to Federal Appeals Court – 17 Apr. 2015.

NEW YORK TIMES – Obama’s Immigration Overhaul, Halted by Judge, Comes Before Appeals Court – 17 Apr. 2015.

REUTERS – Immigration Fight Heads to Federal Appeals Court – 17 Apr. 2015.

YAHOO! – Immigration Fight Heads to Federal Appeals Court – 17 Apr. 2015.