The U.S. Senate just approved a short-term renewal (until the end of this month) of a highly controversial surveillance program used by U.S. spy agencies, which permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other intelligence gathering agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. These searches include communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets. This is a surveillance tool that certainly pits Americans’ privacy rights against what U.S. officials have long said is a uniquely effective program for the security of our country; some feel it is tantamount being required to make a choice between security and liberty, a debate over privacy vs. security. Opponents of the surveillance tool point to past misuses by agencies like the FBI, which repeatedly violated its own standards when searching intelligence related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks at the Capitol and the racial justice protests in 2020.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a criminal allegation (involving surveillance or otherwise), immediately contact a Seattle Criminal Attorney. A Seattle Criminal Defense Attorney is not going to judge you and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle Criminal Lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce penalties and can help direct people on how to best deal with their criminal charge, and sometimes even get them dismissed. So, it should go without saying that someone cited for a crime should hire a qualified Seattle criminal lawyer as soon as possible. Criminal charges can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with a criminal case in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle Criminal Lawyer. SQ Attorneys can be reached at (425) 359-3791 and/or (206) 441-0900.