GOP legislators agree on Patriot Act extensions
But some senators from both parties vow to block bill unless changes made.
Republican lawmakers in the US House and Senate
reached a tentative deal Thursday on an extension of the USA Patriot Act. Parts of the law are due to expire Dec. 31. The
Boston Globe reports that the new deal would see some of the Patriot Act's less controversial provisions made permanent, such as those that break down barriers between law enforcement agencies.
Two highly criticized measures would only be renewed for four years: the authorization to use roving wiretaps, which allow investigators to monitor conversations as a person moves from place to place, and the authority to secretly collect records, books and other information from businesses and agencies such as libraries and medical centers.The White House had been seeking a ten-year extension.
"All factors considered it's reasonably good, not perfect, but it's acceptable," said the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the use of these two controversial measures
would also face new curbs, including a requirement for the government to explain in detail why it needs to use a roving wiretap.
It would also allow someone who received a so-called 'national security letter' – the tool used by the FBI to force businesses to turn over financial and communications data on customers without a court order or grand jury subpoena – to consult a lawyer. Previously anyone receiving one of these letters was not allowed to tell anyone. And federal agents must now obtain a court review before obtaining library records.
The
Chicago Tribune reports, however, that a small group of senators from both parties said they would
continue to fight against the extension, saying more protections of civil liberties need to be included in any final deal. The group includes Senators Russ Feingold, (D) of Wisconsin, Dick Durbin (D) of Illinois and Ken Salazar (D) of Colorado, and Larry Craig (R) of Idaho, John Sununu (R) of New Hampshire and Lisa Murkowski (R) of Alaska. Sen. Feingold was the only senator to vote against the original Patriot Act.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) of Vermont, a co-sponsor and author of the original Patriot Act, who had been involved in the negotitions, refused to sign the final agreement. He said heb elieved the deal would fail to protect the rights of "innocent Americans." And Feingold said he would filibuster the bill if it came to the floor of the Senate in its current form.
Feingold said he was troubled by three provisions in the act: allowing the government to have access to people's library and business records without proof of a direct connection to terrorism; giving the government broad search authority; and allowing the use of so-called "national security letters" to demand information from businesses and then require them not to reveal that they were releasing information.
Reuters reports that Sen. Leahy joined three other Democratic senators, (Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, John Rockefeller of West Virginia and Carl Levin of Michigan) in calling for
a 90-day extension of the current law if the latest compromise could not be changed more to their liking by the deadline.
USA Today reports Republican senators Sununu, Craig and Murkowski also said they were "
gravely disappointed" in the agreement.
"There is still no meaningful judicial review," said [Sununu], one of the six senators who objected to the compromise. Congress should "do a better job of protecting civil liberties. Law enforcement is not undermined or threatened by a judicial-review process of any kind." Sen. Specter said he felt he had enough votes to overcome any filibuster.
The
Associated Press reports Friday that the US government's failure to get even one conviction against former Florida professor Sami al-Arian and three co-defendants was a
serious blow to the Patriot Act and showed its weaknesses. Mr. Al Arian and the others were charged with supporting terrorist organizations overseas.
"I think it's a setback for the government, and I think it might illustrate that the Patriot Act might not be the magic bullet prosecutors thought it was when it was passed," said John Farmer Jr., a former New Jersey attorney general and federal prosecutor who served on the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Mr. Farmer also said the verdicts show how difficult it is for prosecutors in a criminal case to use secretly gathered intelligence as evidence. Intelligence investigations are not designed to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard in criminal court. In an editorial, the
Missoulian of Montana writes that if there was
a silver lining to the original act, it was that it inspired "a lot of true patriots to act," and speak out against the act.
Truth be told, Congress passed the Patriot Act in a simplistic show of action shortly after al-Qaeda operatives hijacked jetliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and rural Pennsylvania. Far more useful action came a bit later with the overthrow of Afghanistan's Al-Qaeda-aiding Taliban regime. The Patriot Act strengthened the already sweeping police powers of government agencies while failing to maintain safeguards ensuring those powers can't be abused. The Bush administration trusts itself to fairly and correctly balance your rights against the legitimate needs of national security. That trust is misplaced, however. History – some of it fairly recent – provides ample examples of the government abusing people's rights, even before passage of the Patriot Act. The government had all the powers it needed to investigate suspected terrorists before Congress passed the Patriot Act. Indeed, among the lessons learned in the wake of Sept. 11 is
that the government has greater power to collect information on people than it does to competently analyze and act on that information. The paper argues that rather than tweaking the worst offending provisions of the act using compromise provisions, legislators should let the act expire, and start over again.
The House is expected to vote Tuesday on the extensions to the Patriot Act, the Senate on Thursday.
Also...
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British law lords ban evidence gained under torture (
Independent)
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War crimes suspect arrested in Canaries (
Deutsche Welle, Germany)
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