Justice Department Details Uses of Patriot Act
So who says the Justice Department is an unbiased pursuer of truth and justice? Well, if nothing else, they at least understand the power of propaganda.
Seeking to bolster support for the Patriot Act, the Justice Department provided Congress on Tuesday with details of numerous cases in which the anti-terrorism law has been used.
The 29-page report is part of the Bush administration effort to prevent Congress from weakening the law, which critics say threatens civil liberties by giving law enforcement authorities more latitude to spy on people.
Release of the document comes less than a week after House Republican leaders barely turned back an amendment that would have prevented the FBI from using Patriot Act authority to obtain library and bookstore records.
The report says that in the period starting with the Sept. 11 attacks and ending May 5, Justice Department terrorism investigations have resulted in charges against 310 people, with 179 convictions or guilty pleas. The Patriot Act, it says, was instrumental in these cases.
"Since the act was passed over two years ago, the Department of Justice has deployed its new authorities urgently in an effort to incapacitate terrorists before they can launch another attack ... the act's successes are already evident," the report says....
The report did not say whether the FBI had used its authority to obtain library or bookstore records. That information is classified, but Attorney General John Ashcroft last year issued a declassified statement saying that, up to that point, the power had not been used.
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, accused the department of selectively releasing information about the Patriot Act and refusing to address civil liberties concerns.
"Coupled with the department's consistent record of exaggerating their record about terrorism, this entire report is suspect," Conyers said.
No one with more than a tenuous grip on reality could reasonably expect Chairman Ashcroft's Justice Department to issue anything but a glowing review of the USA PATRIOT Act. An independent review of the uses (and yes, abuses) of the USA PATRIOT Act would provide a much more credible assessment, but then again, questioning the government only makes your patriotism suspect.
It is entirely possible that the powers conferred under the USA PATRIOT Act have been used only for good. What frightens me, though, is the potential that the Bush Administration could turn these powers against political opponents at a moment's notice- in the name of combatting terrorism, of course.
No matter how much lipstick you put on this pig, it's still going to be a pig- and we are still at risk. The USA PATRIOT Act was voted into law even though Congressmen were not afforded the opportunity to READ the Act before voting on it. In the immediate post-9.11 hysteria, who was going to argue against "combatting terrorism"?
Where will you be when they come for you?
