Aaron Swartz, Plea Leveraging & The Bordenkircher Problem
As Netroots Nation 2013 begins, I want to emphasize one of the best panels (If I do say so) of the event. It is titled: Beyond Aaron’s Law: Reining in Prosecutorial Overreach, and will be hosted by Marcy Wheeler. Joining Marcy will be Aaron…
Government Spying: Why You Can't 'Just Trust Us'
Okay you Wheelhouse mopes, Marcy, Jim and I are all in San Jose at Netroots. Not sure the jail in this here town is big enough to hold us all. Marcy already put up two posts earlier today, but posting may be a bit spotty, we shall see. I have…
The Intelligence Community's Willful Ignorance about Americans Caught in 702 Surveillance
Given the Intelligence Community's reluctant and partial disclosures on the Section 702 (PRISM/FAA) collection, I want to return to a squabble from last fall, before Congress reauthorized FAA.
As you'll recall, Ron Wyden tried to get the…
Did "The Shooter" Take 7 Souvenir Pictures of Osama bin Laden?
On Tuesday, I noted that, between the draft and the final, DOD's Inspector General removed this language referring to Admiral William McRaven purging SOCOM's network of pictures of Osama bin Laden after CIA exposed the members of SEAL Team…
Minimization in the Age of Cyberwar
I'd like to compare how the NSA talking point document released yesterday compares with a document Glenn Greenwald has or has seen, with respect to minimization under Section 702 (PRISM/FAA) collection. Remember PRISM allows the government to…
Section 215 Dragnet: Again with the Passive Voice Oversight
The NSA released a more-detailed sheet on the Section 215 dragnet which provides a number of details that are more troubling than what got presented in front of the TV cameras earlier today.
As always, I'm particularly interested in the documentation…
Terrorist Hobgoblins Bite the Intelligence Community in Its Efficacy Ass
I just finished watching the House Intelligence Committee hearing on the NSA programs revealed by Edward Snowden. I'll have a lot more to say about the content of the revelations in the next few days. But first, a general observation.
Since…
Why Would You Segregate the FISA Orders, But Not the Directives?
The FBI, according to Eli Lake, thinks someone besides Edward Snowden may be responsible for leaking the Section 215 order to Verizon ordering them to turn over the metadata on all their American customers' calls. They claim to think so because…
DOD's Inspector General Disappears William McRaven's "Purge"
The day before I got hopelessly buried in the rabbit warren of NSA leaks, I reported that the draft IG Report on the Obama Administration's leaks to Zero Dark Thirty's creators seemed to indicate that, on Admiral William McRaven's orders, SOCOM…
The Truth: The NSA Has Been Working on Domestic Spying for Ten-Plus Years
The yapping of national security conservatives, whether self-identified as Republicans or Democrats, obscures the truth when they denigrate Edward Snowden’s flight to Hong Kong and subsequent attempts at whistleblowing.
The truth is this:
• Others…
Saxby Chambliss Reveals the Game
In an article explaining why Dianne Feinstein is in no rush to hold a hearing on the massive dragnet sucking up your communication and mine, Saxby Chambliss is quoted as saying,
“We so rarely have open hearings,” Chambliss said.
Eleven…
5th Amendment Silence: One Day In Salinas We Let It Slip Away
There is a famous line in the famous Kris Kristofferson song "Me and Bobby McGee" that reads:
Then somewhere near Salinas, Lord, I let her slip away
Today the United States Supreme Court let a bit of the 5th Amendment backbone right to…
Edward Snowden: Congress Has Immunity from Spying, But You Don't
I'll admit from the start that the Snowden chat at the Guardian was a brilliant journalistic and technical feat. At the same time, it's clear that Snowden is still closely following the news, and presumably shaping his answers for maximal political…
War Criminal Afghan Army Chief of Staff Dostum Opens Fire on Member of Own Political Party
As Afghanistan careens toward presidential elections next April and the end of authorized NATO presence in Afghanistan at the end of next year, we are beginning to see jockeying for position among the same set of militia strongmen who never…
James Clapper Throws a Concentrated Nugget of Orwellian Turd-Splat
Hooboy.
I was going to leave the whole CNET thing well enough alone after Jerry Nadler issued a statement retracting his sort-of suggestion that the NSA could wiretap Americans without a warrant (more on that below).
But I can't remember…
Seeing Through the Blizzard to Utah: How Much Space Does Metadata Need
In the blizzard of half-truths, dissembling, and prevarications about the nature of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, it’s easy to lose sight of the obvious. In this case, the obvious is about one million square feet…
The CNET "Bombshell" and the Four Surveillance Programs
CNET is getting a lot of attention for its report that NSA, "has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls."
In general, I'm just going to outsource my analysis…
Shell Games: How to Keep Doing Internet Data Mining and Avoid the Courts
As I noted, the WaPo makes it clear one of the most sensitive parts of the government's surveillance programs is the collection of Internet metadata.
But the thing is, it doesn't come out and explain whether and if so how it continues to…
Telecoms Versus the Toobz: The Source of the Legal Troubles
In this important piece on overbroad surveillance programs under Presidents Bush and Obama, the WaPo reveals that the program James Comey almost resigned over in 2004 involved sucking Internet metadata off telecom switches owned by the telecoms.
Telephone…
NSA Spying: The Oversight of the Passive Voice
In a white paper claiming "the American people deserve to know what we are doing to protect both" privacy and liberty, and security, the government (Ellen Nakashima, at least, doesn't specify which agency generated this) also includes this assertion:
The…