7/13. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller sent a letter [6 pages in PDF] to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the Speaker of the House, and a substantially identical letter to Vice President Richard Cheney, in his capacity as President of the Senate, regarding measures to be taken by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its FBI to enhance DOJ oversight of the surveillance and search and seizure activities of the DOJ and FBI. The letters state that this oversight pertains to "national security activities".

Members of the House and Senate, the DOJ's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and others have faulted the DOJ's and FBI's failure to comply with applicable laws and/or internal procedures governing electronic surveillance. The DOJ may now seek to head off outside oversight of its activities.

On Tuesday, July 24, 2007, at 9:30 AM, the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Room 216 of the Hart Building.

The DOJ letter states that "The effort will include the implementation of a dedicated Oversight Section within the Department's National Security Division and the proposed establishment of a new Office of Integrity and Compliance within the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

The DOJ also issued a release that states that the new Oversight Section of the National Security Division (NSD) will be "specifically dedicated to ensuring that the Department fulfills its national security oversight responsibilities."

This release adds that "Until recently, the Department’s national security oversight largely focused on the FBI’s use of FISA authorities, with the Department conducting accuracy reviews to ensure the accuracy of FBI declarations to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and minimization audits to ensure FISA information is handled appropriately."

This release also addresses the government's use of National Security Letters (NSLs). It states that "The Oversight Section will expand this focus beyond FISA to include all aspects of the FBI’s national security program and its use of national security tools."

It adds that the new section will conduct "regular reviews of national security activities at FBI field offices and FBI Headquarters national security units", and that these reviews "are not limited to the FBI’s use of FISA or National Security Letters, but examine all national security activities to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, guidelines and policies".

Whether or not the federal government has violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in connection with its operation of the program titled "Terrorist Surveillance Program" or "TSP", and other programs, is the subject of much debate.

Also, on March 9, 2007, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report [30 MB in PDF] titled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of National Security Letters", and a second report [10 MB in PDF] titled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Use of Section 215 Order for Business Records".

The OIG found that the FBI did not have sufficient controls over its NSL process, did not provide adequate training, and failed to follow its own policies and Attorney General Guidelines. See, story titled "DOJ IG Releases Reports on Use of NSLs and Section 215 Authority" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007.

NSLs empower the federal government to seize records from internet service providers, phone companies, banks, credit card companies and other financial entities, without court approval. § 505(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the reach of NSL authority by removing the requirement that these NSLs pertain to an "agent of a foreign power", and by allowing NSLs to be used to compel ISPs to produce records about people who use their services.

7/12. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), and others introduced HR 3013 [LOC | WW], the "Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007", a bill to protect the attorney client privilege and attorney work product.

The bill targets the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal government agencies that abuse their power to compel disclosure of communications protected by the attorney client privilege and attorney work product, including compelled disclosures by companies and persons who are not the targets of government prosecutions and enforcement efforts.

Rep. Scott (at right) issued a release that states that "the Department of Justice and other federal law enforcement agencies have written policies instructing enforcement officials to bring charges against ``uncooperative´´ companies. The problem with this standard, however, is companies are labeled ``uncooperative´´ if they refuse to turn over confidential communications between employees and company lawyers, in violation of traditional principles of attorney-client privilege."

Rep. Scott added that "Corporate crime should be vigorously investigated and prosecuted but within traditional Constitutional boundaries. When government agencies use tactics that violate Constitutional rights, it is time for Congress to act."

The bill provides that "In any Federal investigation or criminal or civil enforcement matter, an agent or attorney of the United States shall not-- (1) demand, request, or condition treatment on the disclosure by an organization, or person affiliated with that organization, of any communication protected by the attorney-client privilege or any attorney work product".

It further provides that the federal government shall not "condition a civil or criminal charging decision relating to a organization, or person affiliated with that organization, on, or use as a factor in determining whether an organization, or person affiliated with that organization, is cooperating with the Government -- (A) any valid assertion of the attorney-client privilege or privilege for attorney work product ..."

The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee (HJC). The bill's cosponsors include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the Chairman of the HJC, and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the HJC.

This is the companion bill to S 186 [LOC | WW], the "Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007", introduced in the Senate on January 4, 2007, by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA).

7/13. The Senate confirmed Preston Geren to be Secretary of the Army. See, Congressional Record, July 13, 2007, at Page S9227.

7/12. President Bush nominated Thomas O'Brien to be the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California for the term of four years. If confirmed by the Senate he would replace the previous U.S. Attorney, Debra Yang, whose departure has been the subject of much partisan debate. See, White House release.

7/12. President Bush nominated Edward Yarbrough to be the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee for the term of four years. See, White House release.

7/11. President Bush nominated Donald Kerr to be Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He is currently Director of the National Reconnaissance Office. He was previously Deputy Director for Science and Technology at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Before that, he worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). If confirmed by the Senate, he would replace U.S. Air Force General Michael Hayden who, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, had been one of the Bush administration's lead spokesmen on the electronic surveillance program titled "Terrorist Surveillance Program". Hayden is now Director of the CIA. See, White House release and release.

7/11. President Bush announced his intent to appoint Kyle McSlarrow (head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association), Ivan Seidenberg (Ch/CEO of Verizon), and Mike Zafirovski (P/CEO of Nortel) to be members of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). See, White House release.

7/9. The Senate confirmed Liam O'Grady to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by a vote of 88-0. See, Roll Call No. 239.

7/9. The Senate confirmed Janet Neff to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan by a vote of 83-4. The votes against were cast by conservative Republicans. See, Roll Call No. 240.

7/9. The Senate confirmed Paul Maloney to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. See, Congressional Record, July 9, 2007, at Page S8881.

7/9. The Senate confirmed Robert Jonker to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. See, Congressional Record, July 9, 2007, at Page S8881.

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The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM for morning business. At 3:00 PM, it will resume consideration of HR 1585 [LOC | WW], the defense authorization bill for FY 2008.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding its collection of data on broadband deployment. This NPRM is FCC 07-17 in WC Docket No. 07-38. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 94, at Pages 27519-27535.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2ndFNPRM) [26 pages in PDF] in its proceeding titled "Carriage of Digital Television Broadcast Signals: Amendment to Part 76 of the Commission's Rules". The FCC adopted this item on April 25, 2007, and released it on May 4, 2007. This item is FCC 07-71 in CS Docket No. 98-120. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 6, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 108, at Pages 31244-31250.

Deadline to submit comments to the Copyright Office (CO) regarding its final list of stations listed in affidavits sent to the CO in which the owner or licensee of the station attests that the station qualifies as a specialty station. See, notice in the Federal Register, June 15, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 115, at Pages 33251-33252.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for morning hour, and at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

8:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host an event titled "Going Beyond the Border: The Impact of Domestic Regulation on Global Markets". The speakers will include Deborah Majoras, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who will speak at 10:30 AM on "Global Antitrust Enforcement". See, notice and agenda [PDF]. Location: Chamber, 1615 H St., NW.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The House Science Committee's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation will hold a hearing titled "The Bayh-Dole Act (P.L. 96-517, Amendments to the Patent and Trademark Act of 1980) - The Next 25 Years". The witnesses will be Arundeep Pradhan (Oregon Health & Science University), Susan Butts (Dow Chemical), Wayne Johnson (Hewlett-Packard), Mark Lemley (Stanford law school), and Mark Allen (Georgia Institute of Technology). See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

12:30 - 2:00 PM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a panel discussion titled "America's $480 Billion Spectrum Giveaway: How it Happened, and How to Prevent it from Recurring". The speakers will be J.H. Snider (NAF), Michael Calabrese (NAF), Bob Edgar (Common Cause), Gary Bass (OMB Watch), and Drew Clark (Center for Public Integrity). See, notice. Location: NAF, 7th floor, 1630 Connecticut Ave., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on numerous treaties, including Treaty Doc. 109-12, the "Patent Law Treaty and Regulations Under the Patent Law Treaty", Treaty Doc. 109-21, the "The Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs", and Treaty Doc. 110-2, the "The Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks". The witnesses will include Lois Boland, Director of the Office of International Relations at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). See, notice. Location: Room 419, Dirksen Building.

5:30 PM. Intel will hold its Q2 2007 Intel Corporation Earnings Conference Call at 5:30 PM ET. See, release.

TIME? The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an event titled "Transatlantic Dialogue on the Digital Economy". For more information, contact Tim Lordan or Danielle Yates at 202-638-4370. Location: __?

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

LOCATION CHANGE. 8:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Homeland Defense Journal will host a conference titled "Strategies for Data Breach Prevention, Mitigation and Notification: A In-depth Look at OMB M-07-16". At 9:45 - 11:00 AM there will be a panel comprised of Hugo Tuefel (Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security), Mark Groman (Chief Privacy Officer of the Federal Trade Commission), and Mischel Kwon (Chief IT Security Technologist, Department of Justice). At 11:00 AM, Karen Evans (OMB) will speak. Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) is also scheduled to speak. See, notice. Previous Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. New Location: Capitol Hilton.

RESCHEDULED FOR JULY 24. 10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice (DOJ). Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing titled "Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy". The witness will be Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of S 1145 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2007". It also includes consideration of the nominations of William Osteen (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina), Martin Karl Reidinger (USDC, WD North Carolina), Timothy DeGiusti (USDC, WD Oklahoma), Janis Lynn Sammartino (USDC, SD California), and Roslynn Mauskopf (USDC, EDNY). The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Safety of Chinese Imports: Oversight and Analysis of the Federal Response". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on several pending nominations, including David McCormick to be Under Secretary for International Affairs, at the Department of the Treasury. See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee will meet. See, FCC release [PDF]. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

11:45 AM - 2:00 PM. The AEI Brookings Joint Center will host a panel discussion titled "The Economics of Internet Advertising: Implications for the Google DoubleClick Merger". The speakers will be Thomas Eisenmann (Harvard), David Evans (LECG), Lorin Hitt (University of Pennsylvania), and Robert Hahn (AEI Brookings). See, notice. Lunch will be served. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Introducing the Industries: The Role of Trade Association Policymakers and Counsel". The speakers will be Marsha MacBride (NAB), Jonathan Banks (USTelecom), Carolyn Brandon (CTIA), Dan Brenner (NCTA), and David Cavossa (SIA). For more information, contact Chris Fedeli at chrisfedeli at dwt dot com or Tarah Grant at tsgrant at hhlaw dot com. Location: Davis Wright Tremaine, Suite 200, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:30 PM. John Snow (Chairman of Cerberus Capital Management, and the previous Secretary of the Treasury), will give a speech on private equity. Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

TIME? Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Paul Atkins will address the Tech Council of Maryland. For more information, contact Mark Glazer at 240-453-6212 or mglazer at techcouncilmd dot com. Location: __, Rockville, MD.

Day one of a two day conference titled "Identity and Access Management in Government Conference". Location: Four Points by Sheraton, 1201 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding FCC regulation of exclusive contracts for the provision of video services to multiple dwelling units (MDUs) and other real estate developments. The FCC adopted this NPRM on March 22, 2007, and released the text [19 pages in PDF] on March 27. See, stories titled "FCC Adopts MDU Forced Access NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,556, March 26, 2007, and "FCC Releases MDU NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,557, March 27, 2007. See also, notice in the Federal Register, April 18, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 74, at Pages 19448-19453. This NPRM is FCC 07-33 in Docket 07-51.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:30 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Second Monetary Policy Report to the Congress for 2007". The witness will be Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of S 1145 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Reform Act of 2007". It also includes consideration of the nominations of William Osteen (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina), Martin Karl Reidinger (USDC, WD North Carolina), Timothy DeGiusti (USDC, WD Oklahoma), Janis Lynn Sammartino (USDC, SD California), and Roslynn Mauskopf (USDC, EDNY). The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Antitrust Task Force will hold a hearing titled "Credit Card Interchange Fees". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet to mark up numerous bills, including S 1492 [LOC | WW], the "Broadband Data Improvement Act", S 1769 [LOC | WW], the "Same Number Act of 2007", and S 1780 [LOC | WW], the "Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act". Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:45 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on several judicial nominees, including Jennifer Elrod (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit), Richard Jones (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington), and Sharion Aycock (U.S.D.C., Northern District of Mississippi). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Day one of a two day conference titled "Identity and Access Management in Government Conference". At 3:30 PM Hugo Tuefel (Chief Privacy Officer of the Department of Homeland Security) will participate on a panel titled "Ensuring Privacy and Management of Data". Location: Four Points by Sheraton, 1201 K St., NW.

4:30 PM. Google will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss second quarter 2007 financial results at 1:30 PM Pacific Time and 4:30 PM Eastern Time. See, release.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Antitrust Investigations: Tactical and Ethical Issues". The speakers will be Ray Hartwell (Hunton & Williams), Kathryn Fenton (Jones Day), Donald Klawiter (Morgan Lewis & Bockius), James Fredricks (DOJ Antitrust Division). See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The price to attend ranges from $80-$115. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF] states that "no votes are expected in the House".

9:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host an event titled "Safe Computing Town Hall Open House". For more information, contact Tim Lordan or Danielle Yates at 202-638-4370. Location: __?

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Legislative Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "House, Senate and FCC Ethics Rules". For more information, contact Paula Timmons at paula dot timmons at mycingular dot blackberry dot net. Location: National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N St., NW.

Effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules changes that implement The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 (Public Law No. 109-235), which increases the maximum forfeiture penalties for obscene, indecent, and profane broadcasts from $32,500 to $325,000. This item is FCC 07-94. The FCC adopted its on May 17, 2007, and released it on June 1, 2007. See also, notice in the Federal Register, June 20, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 118, at Pages 33913-33914.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a four day hearing of the Copyright Office (CO) regarding the operation of, and continued necessity for, the cable and satellite statutory licenses under the Copyright Act. See, notice in the Federal Register, May 23, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 99, at Pages 28998-29000. Location: Copyright Office Hearing Room, 4th Floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

12:00 NOON - 1:45 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Internet Protocol and Broadband Technology -- Working for Public Safety". The speakers will be Rob Atkinson (ITIF), Jon Peha (Carnegie Mellon University), Steve Correll (National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System), James Craige (Alexandria, Virginia Police Department), Mark Grady (Indiana 911 Project), Dean Hairston (Danville, Virginia Police Department), and Robert LeGrande (District of Columbia). Lunch will be served. See, registration page. Location: Room 1205, Rayburn Building.

12:30 PM. Mel Karmazian (CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio) will give a speech. Location: Ballroom, National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.