Obama's Verizon surveillance reveals massive erosion of US civil liberties

From:  The Guardian 

Thanks to a secret court and compliant politicians, this administration is running an ever-expanding security state

• Revealed: NSA collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers daily

•  Jonathan Turley
• guardian.co.uk, Thursday 6 June 2013 11.01 EDT

President Obama with Attorney General Eric Holder, whose Justice Department obtained
the right from the Fisa court to access Americans' phone records with Verizon. P
hotograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

President Obama with Attorney General Eric Holder, whose Justice Department obtained the right from the Fisa court to access Americans' phone records with Verizon. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

While the media in the United States (with some notable exceptions) have been criticized for relatively soft coverage of attacks on civil liberties by the Obama administration, the British press appears to be filling the gap. The Guardian is reporting on a massive surveillance program by the Obama administration where the government has ordered Verizon (and presumably other carriers) to turn over all calls made within the United States and calls between the United States and other countries.

The surveillance was conducted under an order from our controversial secret court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Fisa), and demanded by the Justice Department and the FBI. The administration has confirmed the existence of the program – another blow to civil liberties under Attorney General Eric Holder and this president.

The order signed by Judge Roger Vinson requires the company to turn over the phone numbers, location, duration, time and unique identifiers for all calls for all citizens. There is no effort to confine the search for individuals connected to any investigation. It is a sweeping surveillance on all citizens. MORE