Is The White House Task Force On Intelligence Report An Attempt To Stall Constitutional Analysis And Congressional Reforms?

Politics

from the the-chess-game-continues dept

Thu, Dec 19th 2013 2:40pm — Mike Masnick

While many of us were surprised at the details of the White House's intelligence task force's proposals on reforming the surveillance system, Marcy Wheeler is already wondering if part of the reason for the White House to release this now, ahead of schedule, is to try to cut off the judicial reviews of the constitutionality of the various programs, as well as the legislative reforms winding their way through Congress. She argues that the report gives the President cover to delay many of these things, and even, potentially, ward off a full constitutional review in the courts -- such that things like the "third party doctrine" (allowing the government to get data from third parties without a warrant) never fully get tested again in court:

So long as the President deliberates on whether to accept these recommendations (which make changes but have obvious loopholes), he'll also buy time for DOJ to decide how to respond to these suits. Most important, for them, will be to protect the Third Party doctrine (which allows them to get information from telecoms and banks and other businesses), even if it means mooting the lawsuits by shifting the phone dragnet back to the providers.

I also think the first half (or so) of these recommendations are designed to moot the Leahy-Sensenbrenner bill (FREEDOM). Even if Obama accepted all the recommendations that parallel Leahy-Sensenbrenner (that would affect the phone dragnet, other bulk collection, National Security Letters, back door searches, and other use of incidentally collected US person data), it would still preserve Executive prerogative to resume such practices. They're not going to do that, mind you, but this will likely stall the debate over Leahy-Sensenbrenner until after Obama makes his decision on what to accept and reject.

All of that may be true -- and is a concern to monitor. But, at the very least, we're seeing increasingly mounting pressure for President Obama to enact real changes to these programs, rather than just defending them blindly.

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Filed Under: intelligence, nsa, reform, surveillance, task force, white house

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out_of_the_blue, 19 Dec 2013 @ 2:59pm

"at the very least" -- Mike, this IS the very least.
Just go with my point that until you see people actually indicted, convicted, and JAILED, then it's all HOOEY. Means less so far than your fantasy football.

Actually, all this PR is to take pressure off corporations and shift all blame to distant NSA, and then it pretty much defuses the whole thing, all goes on as before.
Google. Making your life better by spying right up to the creepy limit. (tm) -- And soon as you're used to it, we get creepier!

10:59:19[l-482-1]
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Mike Brown (profile), 19 Dec 2013 @ 4:41pm

Call me overly optimistic, but my guess is that from Obama on down, the powers that be are starting to wake up to the fact the the public isn't buying the BS. Rather that fan the flames further with a report saying everything is A-okay, they decided to throw us a bone.

I doubt it's just a show to silence critics though. That probably wouldn't work. The critics have election campaigns to deal with, so of course they want their names associated with the cleanup process.
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moon doggie, 19 Dec 2013 @ 8:40pm

A bone is right. The shaft has sunk deep into our derrieres.
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springtime for shicklegruber, 19 Dec 2013 @ 8:41pm

beer hall putch
is in order.
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- Eric Goebelbecker (profile), 20 Dec 2013 @ 5:58am
  
  Re: beer hall putch
  It's "putsch," and sure, a violent attack on our capital is exactly what we need.
  
  You go first.
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  - Pragmatic, 20 Dec 2013 @ 6:00am
    
    Re: Re: beer hall putch
    What Eric Goebelbecker says. And we all remember what happened after the beer hall putch, don't we, children?
    
    Go read up on history from 1935-45, and let me know what you find out.
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Alt0, 20 Dec 2013 @ 7:32am

Still think its all damage control and it will back to monkey business as usual come Um.... let's say March.
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- Anonymous Coward, 2 Jan 2014 @ 12:15pm
  
  Re:
  But Snowden was smart: As long as he keeps having things to leak, we won't forget
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2013 @ 5:14pm

Considering the steaming heap of bullshit I heard on TV today from the Liar In Chief of the US, about Snowden's expose of the NSA's criminal behavior and the effects it is having on Terrorist communications, I'd say that obfuscation and delay are absolutely Obama's sole concern - or more properly, the sole concern of his corporate handlers.
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