Several news organizations supported separate motions before the Foreign...
Several news organizations supported separate motions before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court demanding disclosure of FISC documents on phone surveillance. In an amicus brief posted Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1c97AyL), the groups backed November requests from the American Civil Liberties Union and ProPublica.…
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The groups on the amicus brief include The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, American Society of News Editors, Atlantic Media, Bay Area News Group, Belo Corp., Bloomberg, Courthouse News Service, E.W. Scripps Co., the First Amendment Coalition, Gannett Co., Hearst Corp., Investigative Reporters and Editors, McClatchy Co., National Press Club, National Public Radio, The New York Times Co., The New Yorker, Politico, The Seattle Times Co. and The Washington Post. “Public access to court proceedings is the linchpin of public acceptance of the legitimacy and credibility of judicial institutions,” the brief said. It slammed recent FISC decisions as “problematic,” in particular the way the FISC limited the Yale Law School Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic from being included in a request before the FISC. “The public has an important interest in learning the justification behind the decision to allow the NSA to conduct its surveillance programs,” the brief said, and “the public needs to know more about how the FISA Court has set this important precedent” evident in recent disclosures.