CAIR Files FOIA Request on Secret Wiretaps

CAIR ^ | December 22, 2005

[West Coast Conservative]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR FILES FOIA REQUEST ON SECRET WIRETAPS
Request seeks legal basis for President Bush’s orders, list of those targeted

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today announced the filing of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all government records relating to President Bush’s post-9/11 executive orders authorizing electronic surveillance of Americans and others in the United States without first obtaining court approval, as required by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Media reports indicate that in some cases, the secret surveillance program intercepted purely domestic communications, despite White House assurances that at least one end of the intercepted communications was overseas. SEE: “Spying Program Snared U.S. Calls,” http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/21/politics/21nsa.html

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed the FOIA request with the CIA, the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, including the FBI.

In the request, CAIR asked for: 1) “Records concerning the ‘authority’ of President Bush to delegate or personally authorize electronic surveillance without obtaining a court order as required by FISA.” and 2) “Any and all lists of natural persons, both American and foreign nationals, who have been or are currently being eavesdropped without proper FISA approval.”

“It is the duty of all those who value the Constitution to state that no one, not even a president, is above the law,” said CAIR National Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.

“President Bush’s wiretapping policy is not only an apparent violation of existing law, it also gives carte blanche for spying, without legal oversight, on any American,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Such wide-ranging and unrestricted powers are an invitation to abuse of constitutional rights and freedoms, and should be of concern to everyone in a society based on respect for the law.” Awad added that such unrestricted surveillance powers could be expanded and used to spy on those who hold dissenting political views.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END -

CONTACT: Arsalan Iftikhar, 202-488-8787 or 202-415-0799, E-Mail: arsalan@cair-net.org; CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-646-6039 or 571-278-4658, E-Mail: csaylor@cair-net.org; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair-net.org

[Echo Talon]

LOL Hey CAIR EAT SH_-!

[Darkwolf377]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

You just lost that ACLU support....

What's next? The Democrats demand testimony from every US soldier who shot an enemy combatant in action, to ask if they Mirandized them?!

[zarf]

Can FR file an FOIA request for the secret Barrett report?

[Mr. Mojo]

What's CAIR trying to do, get themselves booted off the WH Ramadan dinner guest list?

[Darkwolf377]

Hey O'Reilly, I got pithy for ya, right here:

Hey CAIR EAT SH_-!

LOL! Well done!

[piasa]

* CAIR :
... CAIR was formed by three individuals from the Islamic Association for Palestine or IAP. As stated in Congressional testimony: “The first manifestation of Hamas’ presence in the United States was the creation of the Islamic Association for Palestine for North America in 1981. Founded by Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook, IAP has served as a Hamas support organization in the United States by publishing Hamas communiqués, distributing Hamas recruitment videos and hosting conferences raising monetary and popular support for Hamas.” ------ "Conversations with a Terrorist," by Joe Kaufman, FrontPageMagazine.com, 6/08/04

[Coldwater Creek]

Thank you Democrats and MSM. There are no words that express my contemp for the above, so I will stop right now.

[piasa]

* IAP aka Islamic Association for Palestine :
A founder of the Texas chapter of a highly influential U.S. Islamic lobby group was found guilty of supporting terrorism.... Ghassan Elashi, along with two brothers, was convicted in Dallas yesterday [April 15, 2005] of channeling funds to a high-ranking official of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook.
Elashi was a board member of the Texas chapter of the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American Islamic Relations -- the third CAIR figure to be convicted on federal terrorism charges since 9-11.
CAIR is a spin-off of the Richardson, Texas-based Islamic Association For Palestine, or IAP, which was founded by Marzook. Former FBI counterterrorism chief Oliver Revell has called the IAF "a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants."
-------- "CAIR leader convicted on terror charges - Founding board member of Texas chapter funded Hamas," By Art Moore,

[Echo Talon]

Can FR file an FOIA request for the secret Barrett report?

Anyone can file a FOIA request. Will your request be granted is another thing.

[Echo Talon]

pithy :D hehe

[piasa]

MAY 17, 2003 : (COLUMBIA, SC : CAIR OPENS ITS NEWEST OFFICE) Last Saturday (May 17), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) opened its newest office in Columbia, S.C., a Southern city with strong Christian roots. The stated purpose of organizers was to discuss "the obligation of Muslims to participate in public affairs, CAIR's achievements and future goals of the organization."
Among those "future goals," according to a CAIR press release, is the elimination of references to "Judeo-Christian" when describing the heritage of the United States. Instead, CAIR and other Muslim groups prefer "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" or "Abrahamic." CAIR wants this new phrase used "in all venues where we normally talk about Judeo-Christian values, starting with the media, academia, statements by politicians and comments made in churches, synagogues and other places." Notice the absence of the word "mosques "in this statement. Muslim groups want Jews and Christians to tolerate them, but there is not a similar call for mosques to include Jewish and Christian beliefs. You do not have to believe in conspiracies or be a bigot to realize something important is happening with this statement and in these political meetings. ------------------- "The threat among us ," TownHall.com , May 20, 2003 , Cal Thomas

[piasa]

SEPTEMBER 10, 2003 : (FORMER CAIR COMMUNITY AFFAIRS DIRECTOR BASSEM K KHAFAGI PLEADS GUILTY TO VISA AND BANK FRAUD - HE IS ALSO TIED TO IANA) As luck would have it, just hours before the hearing, [the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security... hearing, titled “Two Years After 9/11: Connecting the Dots,” ] news services reported that former CAIR official Bassem K. Khafagi had pleaded guilty to charges of visa and bank fraud in federal court in Detroit.
The charges were brought against Khafagi for his role with the Islamic Assembly of North America, a group that has advocated violence against the United States and is believed to have funneled money to organizations with terrorist connections. At the time of his arrest, Khafagi was Community Affairs director with CAIR. ... Khafagi is one of several IANA officials indicted on terrorism-related charges after Federal agents raided the group’s Ypsilanti, Michigan offices in February. Another arrested IANA official, Saudi-born Sami al-Hussayen ran a series of IANA websites that propagated the teachings of radical Islamist clerics closely linked with Osama bin Laden. He also ran the University of Idaho Muslim Students Association. Al-Hussayen is awaiting a deportation order after refusing to testify in his own defense. -- "A Bad Day for CAIR ," by Evan McCormick, FrontPageMagazine.com, 9/24/03

[DoughtyOne]

Tell them to stuff it on national security grounds.

CAIR, looks like your true colors are beginning to show through. I had my doubts, and this doesn't serve to aleviate them AT ALL.

[piasa]

* Randall "Ismail" Royer :
... other CAIR figures convicted of terror-related crimes include Randall Todd "Ismail" Royer, a former communications specialist and civil-rights coordinator ...Royer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges he trained in Virginia for holy war against the United States and sent several members to Pakistan to join Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri terrorist group with reported ties to al-Qaida. ------- "CAIR & terrorism: Joseph Farah on Hamas 'front group' posing as civil-rights organization," Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily.com, April 18, 2005

[Bud Krieger]

Why don`t they just go after our records on our nuclear weapons programs while they are at it.

The scary part is, some judge will probably go alone with all of this.

[DoughtyOne]

Not good. Thanks.

[kingu]

1) Consult with your constitutional lawyer for cites that outline the president's war powers and previous SCOTUS judgments on the issue.

2) No records found that match '“Any and all lists of natural persons, both American and foreign nationals, who have been or are currently being eavesdropped without proper FISA approval.”' Consult number one.

[Republican Wildcat]

Does this lawsuit also cover the actions taken by Clinton and Carter?

[blondee123]

Does this lawsuit also cover the actions taken by Clinton and Carter?

But, I'm sure, yeah, right, absolutely!! (/sarcasm)