Islamic charity demands $612K from feds after judge rules US eavesdropped without warrant

Islamic charity in Calif. wiretap case wants $612K

SAN FRANCISCO — Lawyers for a now-defunct Islamic charity want more than $600,000 in damages from the federal government after a judge ruled that officials illegally wiretapped the charity’s phone calls.

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker found that the Terrorist Surveillance Program authorized by President George W. Bush was illegal because it allowed investigators to eavesdrop on electronic communications without warrants. Walker concluded that the Ashland, Ore., arm of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation was subject to warrantless wiretaps in 2004.

The judge ordered the charity’s lawyers to submit a proposed damage amount.

On Friday, Al-Haramain’s lawyers argued that the organizations’ two U.S. lawyers and the charity itself each should receive $204,000.