RELEASED DOCUMENTS REVEAL ILLEGAL ACTIVITY BY INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES

Electronic Frontier Foundation - The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Agency have released 162 pages of intelligence oversight reporting in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by EFF in July.

The reports, made to a presidential advisory committee called the Intelligence Oversight Board, detail intelligence activities that the agencies "have reason to believe may be unlawful."

EFF is reviewing the documents now and has posted them on our website. Some of our initial finds include reports that:

* The Department of Homeland Security improperly investigated the U.S.-based religious organization the Nation of Islam.
* High-level Pentagon officials gave false information to Congress about al-Qa'ida and the 9/11 attacks.
* The Department of Homeland Security improperly collected intelligence about a non-violent Muslim conference in Georgia, including details about conference speakers who were Americans.
* The National Security Agency admitted that, as of late 2007, it lacked processes and procedures for timely reporting of intelligence oversight violations.

A federal judge indicated during a hearing yesterday that she intends to order other intelligence agencies to produce similar documents to EFF throughout January and February of next year. We expect those disclosures to include reports from the CIA, Department of Defense and the Defense Intelligence Agency.