The Senate Plot To Make The Patriot Act Even Worse

[Itsthetruth]

CounterPunch
May 18, 2005

A CounterPunch Exclusive
The Senate Intelligence Committee's Secret End Run
The Plot to Make the PATRIOT Act Even Worse
By DAVE LINDORFF

In a stunning slap at the democratic legislative process, the Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), has suddenly and quietly scheduled a closed-door session for this Thursday to mark up its version of a renewed USA PATRIOT ACT, the frankenstein legacy of former Attorney General John Ashcroft and his then assistant Michael Chertoff (now secretary of Homeland Security).

The controversial act, many provisions of which seriously undermine basic Constitutional rights and protections, was just being examined in hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee headed by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), where it came under heavy criticism from both right and left. Both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees have jurisdiction over the act, but the Judiciary committee, with its open hearings, was widely seen as having primacy.

Says Lisa Graves, intelligence lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union, "This is an effort by the administration to get everything they want. It is an outrage." Graves says the move suggests that the administration and its congressional backers fear that they could lose in the Judiciary Committee, and are hoping to present the bill they want as a fait accompli and then call anyone who tries to weaken it "soft on terror."

"This is a radical bill," Graves says of the Intelligence Committee work-in-progress. She says her sources tell her that besides making the controversial sunset provisions of the PATRIOT Act permanent, the Intelligence Committee version of the revised act would greatly expand one of its most dangerous provisions, the administrative subpoena. "It would allow administrative subpoenas for virtually anything held by a third party, such as bank or phone or medical records, with only the merest unsubstantiated hint of a foreign connection." Equally troubling, she says, the Intelligence Committee version of the bill would strip out a current bar on using warrantless administrative subpoenas in cases that involved primarily protected First Amendment activities, such as legitimate political protest.

http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff05182005.html

[leveymg]

1. Kick. This is important.

Almost slipped this one under the Nuclear smog. Sneaky bastards. :grr:

[ibid]

2. soft on terror? Bush's war on Iraq has made us "soft" in our war on terror

But I doubt the media would understand. Sad that $300 billion and 1600 dead and 15000 maimed and 100,000 civilan dead does not bring better new sign-ups for the Army.

Thank God we were able to hire those 10,000 Ugandans to go to Iraq.

[Just Me]

3. Wow! The neoCONs are totally out of control!!!

They must be anticipating further turmoil to so craftily seek to suppress dissent in this country.

Very disturbing.

[wtbymark]

4. The start of official fascism...

The first step in quelling any dissent, and don't worry we wont crowd up the already burdened prison system, thats what we have all those FEMA camps for. Welcome to 1939 Berlin.

We are at war - our enemy is the Fellowship!

[Itsthetruth]

5. ACLU Press Release

Senate Committee to Review Controversial Patriot Act Legislation in Secret; Draft Legislation Hidden from Public

May 17, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [e-mail]

WASHINGTON – The Senate Intelligence Committee announced today that it is rushing forward with a markup of Patriot Act reauthorization legislation Thursday, but that the session will be behind closed doors.

Some of the most extreme parts of the Patriot Act are set to sunset, or expire, at the end of this year unless Congress reauthorizes them. When lawmakers passed the Patriot Act just 45 days after 9/11, they included these sunsets because they knew that some provisions shouldn’t be made permanent. The committee will be reviewing legislation involving the sunsets and other key parts of the Patriot Act that impact civil liberties.

Members of Congress have until the end of the year to review and modify the Patriot Act, but some lawmakers hope to steamroll the entire process through Congress in the next few weeks. This closed-door markup is an indication that some in Congress are trying to rush through legislation, and keep the public in the dark.

The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, ACLU Executive Director:

“One reason that people across the political spectrum are concerned about the Patriot Act is that so much of it is shrouded in secrecy. Many provisions are implemented secretly, and the government has kept secret key information on how it is being used. Now, lawmakers are trying to keep legislation to reauthorize the Patriot Act secret as well.

“Nearly 400 communities, included seven states, have passed resolutions calling on lawmakers to bring the Patriot Act in line with the Constitution. Instead of addressing these legitimate concerns, and reviewing the act in daylight, some in Congress would rather hide behind closed doors away from public scrutiny. The Patriot Act has been the subject of heated debates in recent months—in Congress, in the media, and in households around the country. There is no good reason for the mark-up and vote on this public law to be kept secret from the public.”

http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=18256&c=206

[Nite Owl]

6. So while everyone is talking about the

nuclear option this is what they are doing. No wonder they want to pack the courts with radicals.

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Of course

The nuclear option, as another poster said, is just a smoke and screen show. *sigh*

[FreedomAngel82]

7. This is very bad

:\ And if they do this before 2006 it could easily go through. :scared:

[dogday]

8. It would be nice if our Representatives read this act this time

They don't even read the act and vote to pass. How dumb is that?

[atommom]

10. Damn that Roberts. This is just another naked grab at power.

And I'm sure that if he gets away with this, these new powers will be used against their political enemies.


:mad:

[Lauri16]

11. This is just so scary on so many levels

Welcome to W's USSA.

[thecai]

12. REPEAL The P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Acts...

...they are a total farce, nearly identical to Hitler's Enabling Act (following the Reichstag Fire "act of terrorism").
Removing our civil liberties does NOT keep us safe from terrorists.