Rep. John Conyers issued the following statement: “Yesterday’s revelations concerning widespread surveillance of Internet communications, combined with the disclosures concerning surveillance of Americans’ phone records raise serious alarm bells. “I agree with the president’s sentiment expressed last month that we are at a crossroads in the so-called war against terror. It is vital that we underst... Read more »
Following the public revelation concerning the collection of phone records, ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) issued the fol... Read more »
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of Justice transmitted a letter in response to Congressman Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Congressman Sensenbrenner’s (R-Wisc.) letter to the attorney general on May 29, 2013. Following the delivery of this letter, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement: “I appreciate the department’s quick and forthright response to the recent letter from... Read more »
Today marks the 59th anniversary of the seminal civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). In this case, the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson,163 U.S. 537 (1896) which held that separate but equal treatment of blacks and whites was constitutional. Oliver Brown, along with a collection with thirteen African American parents filed suit against the Board of Educati... Read more »
This morning, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, alongside the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Economic Growth, held a hearing entitled, “DOJ’s Quid pro Quo with St. Paul: A Whistleblower’s Perspective.” Following the reading of opening statements at the hearing, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement: “I am deeply disappointed in my ... Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives voted 288 to 127 to pass H.R. 624, the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act” (CISPA). This legislation overrides current privacy laws to permit private companies to share information with the federal government if there is a suspected cyber threat, but does not require the companies to remove unrelated private information of customers from what they tu... Read more »
Today, former Chairmen of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) and Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) responded to oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Shelby County v. Holder. The bipartisan group of members filed a brief as amici curiae on February 1, 2013 to affirm what the Supreme Court has declared for over 50 years: Congress can enforce ... Read more »
This morning, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee oversight hearing entitled, “Drones and the War on Terror: When Can the U.S. Target Alleged American Terrorists Overseas?” Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) delivered the following statement during his opening remarks: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I very much appreciate that our Com... Read more »
This morning, the House Judiciary Committee held a Full Committee Markup of H. Res. 819, “Directing the Attorney General of the United States to transmit to the House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, any documents and legal memoranda in the Attorney General’s possession relating to the practice of targeted killing of United States citize... Read more »