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A new document reveals that the U.S. Department of Justice secretly kept track of Americans’ calls to foreign countries for more than a decade to track drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

The new database of stored calls was described in a filing Thursday in the case of a man accused of conspiring to unlawfully export goods to Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

A Drug Enforcement Administration official said in the filing that the agency, which operates under the Justice Department, has long used administrative subpoenas — not federal court orders — to collect the metadata of U.S. calls to foreign countries “that were determined to have a demonstrated nexus to international drug trafficking and related criminal activities,” the Journal reported.

Although the court document only refers to outgoing calls, sources familiar with the program say it also collected data on incoming calls.

However, the program did not monitor the content of the conversations. The document did not identify the countries called or say how many countries were involved, but did mention Iran as one of the countries reached.

The program operated from 1990 until 2013, sources told The Journal, and the Justice Department said the database was deleted and has not been searched since 2013.

The database controlled by the DEA is reminiscent of one kept by the National Security Agency, but the NSA gathers both foreign and domestic calls and is authorized and overseen by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as opposed to the DEA program which merely issued administrative subpoenas that weren’t reviewed by a judge.

The latest discovery shows the government has “extended its use of bulk collection far beyond” terror and national security cases to ordinary criminal investigations, American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Patrick Toomey told The Journal.

Civil Liberties groups and lawmakers have called for an end to the program, saying it violates Americans’ privacy rights and courts are now weighing legal challenges to the program.

Saied Kashani, the lawyer in this case, has sought to have the phone evidence thrown out and said the government has “converted the war on drugs into a war on privacy,” The Journal reported.

Source: The Washington Times

 

Dang dude. That shot my morning down.

Thanks though.

 

I could care less if they track my calls... I do nothing that is illegal... or should I say, if/when I do, it is of such small scale (buying an eighth of 'dro) that its a waste of their time to worry about my ass.

So that means, if you are a big time criminal, then you should worry... so I do not fit that description, and if you (people in general) don't either?.. I wouldn't worry 'bout it.

plus, if you are a big time criminal... or worse, facilitate terrorism?.. then reap what you sow...

Also, in response to this specific case... there's a reason why we establish sanctions on Iran... so who ever was going to make money by funneling products to this country deserves to be prosecuted... that is, unless it had to do with humanitarian efforts... which is another story all together.


I definitely understand the Libertarian argument though. *yes*

 

Nothing new here, really. More appropriate question is which country don't do that these days in the name of safety excuse.

 

Nothing personal but I friggin' HATE this kind of short-sighted argument. It is one of the greatest barriers in making people understand that they are not exempt from this simply because they THINK they have nothing to hide. And it's really ridiculous to hear it from you, someone who is a supplier. I even have another article at the ready and I'd like you to read it before you respond. Why ‘I Have Nothing to Hide’ Is the Wrong Way to Think About Surveillance. Don't use the word Libertarian, this has nothing to do with political parties. I freakin' hate partisanship because it's yet another barrier that distracts us from the topic at hand. A waste of time for them to worry about your ass? America houses 1/4th of the world's prison population yet constitutes 5% of the world population. Really think about that for a moment.

 

"Nothing to hide, nothing to fear" is the argument that will end up with giving the power to those who have already started, to continue to create their police state. as many revelations have shown already the emphasis is placed on monitoring the entirely legal threats to their own personnel interests, rather than the stated aim's they want you to think they are brought in for.

 

ι also think you uploaded a video with someone talkin at Tedx about the same thing.

 

ah' ight, ah 'ight.. chillax, chillax... I'll check the link.


EDIT:

Point well taken...

now how can I get rid of these damn lobsters... *no*


No, seriously though...

you are definitely right... stuff's messed-up.

 

Messed big time, mate. And it's only gonna get worse. I've been reading on some new bills they're trying to push in the senate... you just wait. The thing is, when people hear about a bill like SOPA was and massively protest, they drop it and construct another one, call it differently but it's essentially same crap. They just want to stump on your freedoms no matter what. Then all that crap comes to Europe later on, so of course what happens to you there concerns us here, too.

But man you people are so hard at times to make you open your eyes. I am into activism somewhat, when I find time for that, and trying to do something about the many issues that plagues our fucked up society. Too much TV and decades of brainwashing has taken it's toll on Americans, as well as Europeans, but Americans are harder to persuade to think for themselves IME. They think they do, but they don't. Those are the worst cases. Also, libertarianism is not nearly as good as it seems, and lots of Americans are into it. Not good.

First step to open-mindedness - get rid of TV! Only watch news on the Internet. Get involved. Be the master of your own life.

And as Richard Dawkins says: "be open minded, but not so much that your brain falls out."

 

I can easily tell now what their - not just your government, but your banks, corporations and your wealthiest people's, agenda is: totalitarian state controlled by banks and corporations, and in fact you're already there. It's not much better here in Europe, too. But as things are now they're still not able to enforce their will upon us so easily, but they're getting there. That's why they made protests illegal in the USA, and I expect the same in Europe. They want to make people to just shut up and listen, be a good drone, succumb to our will. The scenario looks pretty grim.

 

WHAT... what do you mean protests illegal in US?..

not heard that one.

But NO SHIT I know what you mean about americans being completely and fucking utterly unable to think for themselves.. as far as TV... I do Netflix, HBO-GO and Showtime. For soap-opera style entertainment, I turn the television on and watch MSNBC, FOX and CNN... But for non-spin related, non-talking head politics, CSPAN on the TV allows you to simply watch Senate/House proceedings... no commentary, no nothin'. Just watchin the real thing as it happens. What I really like to watch are the Congressional Oversight and Govt. Reform Committee hearings... hilarios really... especially that twat Kathryn Sibelius and here shit-ridden attempt at the Affordable Care Act rollout.


Furthermore, late on Sunday nights (or actually early monday mornings) are UK Parliament proceedings... now that SHIT is like... Hootin' and hollerin' etc.
Very interesting.

For me, I subscribe to NO political ideology or identify as anything but independent. Furthermore however, like I said, politics to me is interesting, in that it IS a fuckn soap opera. Its great...

Dangerous shit however, no doubt.

I'd love to do activist stuff... I'd love to do a lot of things... there's only so much time in life however... and while spending as much time as I can on music, I am also working towards becoming a CPA.. (dorkville!! ) so.. its just hard to do anything aside from the 2 things I've mentioned.
Once school is finished, I really want to engage in some kind of environmental activism.

 

The problem with politics particularly as it relates to the United States is that the whole process is ridiculously corrupt, requires huge sums of money and therefore ensures that nobody will get into office that can really change that and even if by some stroke of luck that happened there are still what amounts to rogue agencies such as the CIA and NSA to worry about as well as all manner of cunts lobbying buying government and dictating policy. Most of the 3 letter agencies are in my opinion the greatest threat to the freedom of the planet right now which is already a prison. Beyond that it's quite obvious that information doesn't trickle up in any meaningful way so in effect the political process is often cut out altogether. That's why I don't believe political solutions will even work. Only an idiot would think they control the most powerful clandestine organizations in the world. Technology is giving governments the capability to create a kind of control that Hitler and Stalin could only have dreamed of. And people still sit back and do nothing. You know what they say: "every nation gets the government they deserve."

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precisely the reason it offers a level of entertainment quality that premium providers can only dream of obtaining.

Furthermore... absolutely, I totally agree with you... and also the reason I have never voted in my entire life... which just goes to highlight my "serious" outlook on matters concerning U.S. civic "duties" and affairs.