President Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act just 45 days after 9/11, following an unprecedented rushed legislative process that bypassed normal democratic deliberation. The 342-page bill was introduced October 23, passed the House 357-66 on October 24, and the Senate 98-1 on October 25, with only …
George W. BushRuss FeingoldTom DaschleJim SensenbrennerViet Dinhpatriot-actsurveillancecivil-libertiesrushed-legislationfeingold
President George W. Bush signed a secret executive order authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct warrantless surveillance of American citizens’ communications, codenamed ‘Stellar Wind’. This program systematically bypassed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance …
George W. BushMichael HaydenNSAAlberto GonzalesJack Goldsmith+1 morepermanent-constitutional-transformationconstitutional-bypass-mechanismssystematic-accountability-destructionstellar-windexecutive-immunity-infrastructure+6 more
President George W. Bush authorized the NSA’s Stellar Wind warrantless domestic surveillance program, completely bypassing FISA court oversight in a fundamental alteration of constitutional checks and balances. The program allowed the NSA to collect phone metadata and internet communications …
George W. BushMichael HaydenNSADick CheneyDavid Addington+3 moresurveillancensastellar-windfisa-bypassconstitutional-crisis+3 more
In September 2001, AT&T established a secret partnership with the NSA to provide direct access to its internet backbone infrastructure, creating unprecedented mass surveillance capabilities that bypass traditional legal protections. This infrastructure enabled the systematic collection and …
Bush AdministrationAT&TNSAsurveillancetelecommunicationsnsacorporate-cooperationinternet-backbone+3 more
In the weeks following the 9/11 attacks, AT&T began developing a comprehensive infrastructure to provide the NSA direct access to internet backbone traffic. This involved installing sophisticated fiber-optic splitters at key network switching centers in eight major U.S. cities, enabling the NSA …
AT&T Corporate LeadershipNSABush AdministrationMark Klein (AT&T Technician)surveillancetelecommunicationsnsacorporate-cooperationinternet-backbone+1 more
Cellebrite is established in Petah Tikva, Israel by founders Avi Yablonka, Yaron Baratz, and Yuval Aflalo. Initially focused on phone-to-phone data transfer technology for wireless carriers and retail operations, the company develops tools to help consumers transfer contacts, photos, and other data …
Computer programmers Larry Ellison and Robert Miner founded the company that would become Oracle Corporation in 1977 after persuading the CIA to let them pick up a lapsed $50,000 contract to build a special database program. The company takes its name from “Project Oracle,” a CIA …
Larry EllisonRobert MinerCIAOraclesurveillanceintelligence-agenciescorporate-originsciaoracle
The Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, led by Senator Frank Church, comprehensively investigated illegal activities by US intelligence agencies. The committee exposed widespread constitutional violations including NSA’s Project …
Frank ChurchCIANSAFBIintelligence-oversightcivil-libertiescongressional-investigationsurveillanceinstitutional-reform
The Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI burglarized an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, and stole classified documents that exposed COINTELPRO—the FBI’s covert and illegal program to surveil, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt American civil rights organizations and political …
FBIJ. Edgar HooverCitizens' Commission to Investigate the FBIfbi-abusecointelprocivil-rightssurveillancedomestic-spying