ACLU to Testify Before Senate Tomorrow on NSA Surveillance

July 30, 2013 12:00 am

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Hearing Will Be Webcast

July 30, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: 212-549-2666, media@aclu.org

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow about the National Security Agency’s blanket surveillance of Americans’ communications. The hearing will concentrate on oversight of the NSA’s surveillance programs secretly authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and secretly overseen by the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

The ACLU is calling on Congress to legislatively ban the government from conducting blanket and suspicionless monitoring of Americans’ communications. It is also calling on Congress to require the FISC to publish its legal opinions concerning the scope and constitutionality of the government’s controversial surveillance powers. ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer will testify on a panel of legal and civil liberties experts.

Last month, the ACLU challenged the constitutionality of the NSA program that engages in the bulk collection of Americans’ call records. The ACLU has also filed a motion with the FISC asking the court to publish the secret legal opinions that justify the government’s collection of Americans’ phone records en masse.

WHAT:
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of NSA surveillance programs

WHO:
Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director, ACLU
James G. Carr, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio & Former Judge, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, 2002-2008
Stewart Baker, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson, LLP

WHEN:
Wednesday, July 31, 9 a.m.

WHERE:
Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Webcast: judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=0d93f03188977d0d41065d3fa041decd

Information on NSA surveillance is at:
aclu.org/nsa-surveillance

After hearing begins, written testimony will be available at:
aclu.org/national-security-technology-and-liberty/testimony-jameel-jaffer-and-laura-w-murphy-senate-judiciary

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