Nonprofit Organizations and Counterterrorism Measures

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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more news

FISA Up Next Week

Feb 1, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

After days of negotiations over how to proceed with a bill to revise to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), CQ ($$) has reported that the Senate will now vote next week with two days of debate after coming to an agreement as far as which amendments to allow. Meanwhile, allowing Congress more time, President Bush has passed a 15 day extension (until Feb. 16) of the Protect America Act.

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"The war against 'homegrown terrorism' is on. Enter the thought police."

Jan 25, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

An opinion piece from Mother Jones titled, "Don't Even Think About It," is worth reading. The article covers legislation intended to address homegrown terrorism.

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FISA Reform Must Overcome Divisions among Lawmakers and a Lack of Time

Jan 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Chances are not good that Congress will come to an agreement and pass legislation to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) before the temporary Protect America Act expires Feb. 1. Yesterday the Senate began debating FISA and whether to grant legal immunity to telephone companies for assisting in the warrantless surveillance program. Facing the time constraints, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) would like to instead pass a one month extensions the expiring law giving Congress more time.

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Convictions Based on Publications Raise New Questions for Nonprofits

On Jan. 11, three former leaders of an Islamic charity based in Boston were convicted of tax fraud and making false statements because they did not include a description of their newsletter and its content in their tax-exempt status application and annual Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 filings. The prosecution argued that the now-defunct group, Care International, supported jihadist movements in articles in its newsletter and postings on its website. The defense argued that no funds went to jihadist groups and that the leaders were being prosecuted for expressing unpopular political views. The convictions, which could result in prison terms of up to five years, are being appealed. The circumstances of the case, combined with public statements of the prosecutors, raise questions about the free expression rights of nonprofits and the level of detail required when reporting to the IRS.

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Court Says Evidence Must Tie Charities to Terrorist Attack, Overturns $156 Million Judgment

On Dec. 28, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned a $156 million judgment against several U.S.-based charities accused of supporting terrorism. The court ruled that the 2004 award against several charities that required payment of damages to the family of David Boim, who was shot to death in the West Bank in 1996 in an attack attributed to Hamas, must be based on evidence that the charities were directly connected to the murder. The case was sent back to the lower court where there may be a new trial. The case could have a significant impact on the long-term fate of charitable funds seized by the government as part of its financial war on terror.

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Parts of Patriot Act Definition of Support for Terrorism Held Unconstitutional

On Dec. 10, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled several provisions of the Patriot Act unconstitutional. The portions of the 2001 law in question criminalized any support for nonviolent activities of groups deemed by the Bush administration to be "terrorist organizations."

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Trouble With FISA Reform

Dec 20, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

According to Wired.com, the FBI's software for recording telephone surveillance of suspected spies and terrorists intercepted 27,728,675 "sessions". "Twenty-seven million is a staggering number given that the FBI only got 2,176 FISA court orders in 2006 from a secret spy court using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. According to the math that means each court order resulted in 12,742 'sessions,' all in regards to phone, not internet, surveillance."

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Court Finds Material Support Provision of Patriot Act Unconstitutional

Dec 20, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

On December 11 federal appeals court ruled in Humanitarian Law Project v. Mukasey, that some portions of the Patriot Act that deal with foreign terrorist organizations are unconstitutional because the language is too vague. Plaintiffs argued that the language of the law is so vague that people could be prosecuted who trained members of foreign groups to peacefully resolve disputes.

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FISA To Be Continued

Dec 18, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Senate voted 76-10 yesterday (Dec. 17) to begin debate on a bill (S.2248) to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). However, after it was clear during debate that resolving the issues of the many amendments would be too difficult, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) decided to postpone the vote on the measure until after the winter break in 2008.

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Charities and National Security: Growing Awareness of Need for Reform

In 2007, the effects of the ineffective and counterproductive legal regime governing counterterrorism programs and charities demonstrated that the current system, based on a short-term emergency response to the 9/11 attacks, needs to be reassessed and reformed for the long term.

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