TSA Changes Its Rules, ACLU Lawsuit Dropped

ndogg writes "Earlier this year, there was much ado about a Ron Paul staffer, Steve Bierfeldt, being detained by the TSA for carrying large sums of money. The ACLU sued on his behalf, and the TSA changed its rules, now stating that its officers can only screen for unsafe materials. With that, the ACLU dropped its suit. '[Ben Wizner, a staff lawyer for the ACLU, said] screeners get a narrow exception to the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches, strictly to keep weapons and explosives off planes, not to help police enforce other laws.'"

Comments

Also:

[TubeSteak]

TSA spokeswoman Lauren Gaches said the new "internal directives" are meant to ensure their screeners are consistent. She acknowledged the policy on large sums of cash had changed, but wouldn't provide a copy of either document. She said the directives would not be released unless a Freedom Of Information Act request was submitted by The Washington Times.

Fuck that.

Re:Also:

[TubeSteak]

If you think his ability to make changes is so great that he could have changed everything by now, you are a damn fool.

I don't think he can change everything, but the TSA is part of the Executive Branch.
Obama is the Executive. As Executive, he can issue "Executive Orders" telling them what to do.
Oh wait! He did!

January 21, 2009
...
All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.

This isn't a problem with Obama, it's a problem with the TSA and their culture of secrecy.

Re:Also:

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

This isn't a problem with Obama, it's a problem with the TSA and their culture of secrecy.

Sure sounds like it. The spokesperson essentially admitted that they would disclose it in response to a FOIA request and Obama's order essentially says that if it would be released under FOIA, then just release it now and skip the song-and-dance. The TSA complains that it is unfairly maligned, but insisting on the song-and-dance like that is exactly the kind of BS that makes people lose any faith or confidence in the agency that they might have had.

Re:$4500 a "large sum of money" for travel?

[BigForbis]

The law is not that you cannot carry more the $10,000 in or out of the country, but simply that you must declare it to customs when you transport more than $10,000 in and out of the country.

Re:Is it now legal to carry large sums of money?

[Qzukk]

Within the US, yes of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?

Look up how governments use civil forfeiture, and be enlightened.