Elizabeth Goitein co-directs the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. She previously served as counsel to Senator Russ Feingold on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.
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The Corker-Kaine AUMF would prevent the president from designating a nation as an “associated force” under the bill, regardless of whether it is a state sponsor of terrorism. But it doesn’t take much imagination to see how that prohibition could be evaded in practice.
Five suggestions for improving accountability, transparency and understanding.
"Beyond Snowden" makes an important contribution to surveillance literature but falls short in its depth of analysis of Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act.
It is clear that the Second Circuit’s ruling that the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records violates Section 215 of the Patriot Act will have significant implications for the current legislative debate over whether and how to reauthorize Section 215. What those implications are, however, is less clear. I’ve attempted here to map out the decision’s effect on existing legislative options.
The Decision
Our friend Carrie Cordero has levied criticisms against three of the recommendations presented in our report, What Went Wrong With the FISA Court. We appreciate, as always, her constructive engagement with us on these issues. In the same spirit, we offer these points in response.
1.