Bush administration seeks broader surveillance reach with FISA amendments News
Bush administration seeks broader surveillance reach with FISA amendments

[JURIST] The Bush administration Friday officially proposed amendments [JURIST report] to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; JURIST news archive] that would subject more people to electronic surveillance within the United States. The proposed legislation, submitted a week before a Senate Intelligence Committee [official website] hearing on government surveillance slated for April 17, would allow US intelligence agencies to monitor foreign nationals – including those with US permanent residence status – without approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [FJC backgrounder]. The proposed amendments also seek to extend the life of warrants issued by the FISC from 120-days to one-year.

Earlier this week, US Director of National Intelligence John M. "Mike" McConnell [official profile] informally circulated copies of the amendments as part of a White House response to what it considers FISA's inflexibility and inability to meet the threat of terrorism. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.