One thing that’s recently become clear to me is that I really need to read a biography of J. Edgar Hoover. Anyone care to recommend one?

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I have been (slowly but surely) plugging through David Kris and J. Douglas Wilson’s massive but absolutely invaluable National Security Investigations & Prosecutions—and let me give them a free plug here: It’s not a cheap tome, but anyone who wants to talk seriously about FISA really must have this book on their desk. The more […]

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Anyone notice this language in the new House FISA bill? SEC. 406. SURVEILLANCE TO PROTECT THE UNITED STATES. This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not be construed to prohibit the intelligence community (as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4))) from conducting lawful surveillance […]

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I have an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times today in which I consider the pre-FISA history of executive branch wiretapping.

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One of the frustrating things about the ongoing FISA debate is that it’s very difficult to independently check on the assertions made by top intelligence officials about the extent of the powers they need. If Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell says that, without quick action, intelligence capacity will be degraded by 50 percent or […]

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Glenn Greenwald and the Firedoglake folk have proposed a campaign to target the conservative “Blue Dog” Democrats who have crossed the aisle in support of warrantless wiretaps and retroactive immunity for telecoms.  I just kicked in a $50 donation; those of you with occupations more remunerative than “freelance writer” should consider giving too.

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Ryan Singel has the “compromise” draft legislation produced by House Democrats; I haven’t had time to slog through the 119-page monster just yet, but on a quick scan of the summary, it looks pretty good at first glance. The EFF’s Kevin Bankston is reportedly pleased, which is an excellent sign. Update: I’ve just looked at […]

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I see we have yet another FISA article from Matt Continetti in the new Weekly Standard. I won’t bore readers rehashing the factual problems I’ve already pointed out, many of which recur here. But let me pick on a couple novel ones: And yet: No sooner had the ink dried on Ellen Nakashima and Paul […]

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…goes to Cliff May for trying to convince us that there’s something Orwellian about the opponents of massive and unaccountable government surveillance of Americans.

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It’s a sign of the amount of raw misinformation floating around the FISA debate that even fundamentally smart and conscientious conservative writers often get the story badly wrong. And by this, I really don’t just mean “come to a normative conclusion I disagree with” or “weigh competing policy values in a non-libertarian way.” I mean […]

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