Welcome to the Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Are you concerned that the government's warrantless surveillance, detainee policies, and other post-9/11 laws and policies undermine our basic civil rights and liberties and make our country less safe? Join the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's national network of people who are taking meaningful action to restore protections guaranteed under the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution.
Subscribe to receive BORDC Action Alerts and e-newsletter. Find past newsletter issues and alerts here.
Bills to watch:
Domestic wiretapping
State secrets privilege
National Security Letters
"Homegrown terrorists"
BORDC resources:
Watch video on FBI abuses of National Security
Letters
BORDC workshop and teleconference recordings
2008 Elections and Key Congressional Votes
First Guantánamo Trial Begins
On Monday, July 21, the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War II began. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni, has been imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay for more than 6 years. He is charged with conspiracy and providing material support for terror for allegedly serving as Osama bin Laden's driver, bodyguard, and weapons courier. Read more about Hamdan's trial.
Bills to watch
Senate Passes FISA Amendments Act
The Senate passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 on July 9 (also known as H.R. 6403) by a margin of 41 votes, with 69 Senators voting for the bill and 28 Senators voting against. This bill, which is now law, effectively legalized the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program and granted immunity to the telecommunications companies that broke the law. Read more here.
"Thought Crime" Bill Dead in Senate
The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act (H.R. 1955) passed by an overwhelming 404-6 in the House last October. However, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee does not plan to consider the bill this year. Grassroots activists' calls seem to have moved the bill to a very slow track for the time being.
BORDC Resources
Watch BORDC's new video, FBI Unbound: How National Security Letters Violate Our Privacy, which features two former members of the Justice Department, Lisa Graves and Bruce Fein, and George Christian, a recipient of a National Security Letter who refused to comply.
BORDC Workshops & Teleconferences
Hear audio or read notes of BORDC's workshops and teleconferences on civil liberties issues here.
2008 Elections and Key Congressional Votes
This table prepared by Amherst, MA, activist Judith Solsken, compares presidential candidates' stances on treatment of detainees and domestic surveillance, and it lists key advisors.
Click here for key Congressional civil liberties votes through October 2006. Click here for key votes after October 2006.
In
the News:
7/25, Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com, The Parade of 'Shrill, Unserious Extremists' on Display at Today's Impeachment Hearings
7/25, Anna Sussman, The San Francisco Chronicle, Journalist Detained for Reporting
7/25, Agence France Presse, Rights Group Wants US Officials Probed for Ordering Torture
7/25, Scott Shane, The New York Times, Documents Laid Out Interrogation Procedures
7/25, Dan Froomkin, The Washington Post, How to Get Away With Torture
7/25, Carol Rosenberg, Miami (FL) Herald, U.S. Released Bin Laden's Chief Bodyguard
Grassroots News:
7/7, Seth Koenig, TimesRecord.com, REAL ID Repeal Drive Takes to the Skies
7/4, John Nichols, The Nation, This Day, Like the Future, Belongs to Patriots
7/4, Jose Antonio Vargas, The Trail, Obama Responds to Online FISA Critics
7/3, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Common Dreams, New Declaration Highlighting Government Abuses Printed in New York Times 7/3/08
7/3, Matthew Stone, Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel (Maine), REAL ID Repeal: Short on Time, Not on Support
6/30, Leigh Donaldson, Portland Press Herald, Has Maine Set a Precedent on Anti-War Protests?
