Sam Spade's San Francisco

President Bush is facing more resistance than he expected as he tries to undo oversight for NSA spying. This morning, The Los Angeles Times exposed that the Bush Administration's real motivation is a disagreement with the top-secret FISA court that limits spying abuses. If Congress gives Bush what he wants, those legal limits won't be in his way.

We need you to take action right now -- before Congress sells out our privacy.

President Bush is facing more resistance than he expected as he tries to undo oversight for NSA spying. This morning, The Los Angeles Times exposed that the Bush Administration's real motivation is a disagreement with the top-secret FISA court that limits spying abuses. If Congress gives Bush what he wants, those legal limits won't be in his way.

Take action right now -- before Congress sells out our privacy.

Thanks to your phone calls, Democratic leaders in Congress are re-evaluating their stance on Bush’s proposed overhaul of the spying rules. But the fight is not over. We need you to keep calling.

President Bush wants Congress to give Attorney General Alberto Gonzales exclusive power to decide who is “reasonably believed to be outside the United States” and to force Internet and telecommunications companies in the United States to comply with requests for data or access to emails and phone calls without warrants and without court review. That low standard and lack of accountability will undoubtedly sweep up the phone calls and emails of Americans who are on the other end of the communication, putting our privacy at risk.

Make no mistake, if Congress doesn’t take a stand now, Bush will continue to bulldoze over Congress and play on lawmakers’ timidity and political calculation in the months ahead. No president should have powers to spy on Americans’ emails or phone calls without individual warrants, period.

Take Action Now Before Congress Sells Out Our Privacy.

Democratic leaders in Congress now claim they won’t put Gonzales in charge of spying. And they also claim they won’t agree to any “compromise” on NSA surveillance unless the rules require warrants in some form to spy on Americans, and some court review.

But details remain murky. There is still a very real danger Democrats will go along with much of what the administration has been pushing for, putting our telephone and email communications at risk.

We face extraordinary circumstances, so we are asking you to keep the pressure on. Congress is set to vote on this today or tomorrow, before they go home for recess.

Take Action Now Before Congress Sells Out Our Privacy.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson
Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office