[Flyboy]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,158870,00.html

WASHINGTON — The FBI would get expanded powers to subpoena records without the approval of a judge or grand jury in terrorism investigations under Patriot Act (search) revisions approved Tuesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Opponents said the new powers, part of the Bush administration's effort to renew and expand the 2001 law, violated basic civil rights.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (search), D-Calif., said she voted against the bill in a closed committee meeting because it left open the possibility that such power could be used in criminal, rather than intelligence-gathering, inquiries.

The panel rejected one amendment that would have required that investigations have "as a significant purpose the collection of intelligence."

The American Civil Liberties Union (search) released a statement criticizing both the substance of the bill and the closed-door meetings to write it.

"When lawmakers seek to rewrite our Fourth Amendment rights, they should at least have the gumption to do so in public," said Lisa Graves, the ACLU's senior counsel for legislative strategy. "Americans have a reasonable expectation that their federal government will not gather records about their health, their wealth and the transactions of their daily life without probable cause of a crime and without a court order."

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (search), R-Kan., and the panel's ranking Democrat, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., had no immediate comment.

The bill also must be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Feinstein and other Democrats planned to again offer their amendments.

[dev_null]

Meanwhile, the purported reason for DHS -- greater sharing of info between LE groups -- still isn't happening. Quelle shock.

[R.H. Lee]

Here's where I agree with Feinstein and the ACLU. Subpoenas by definition require judicial review, at least for American citizens. Foreign nationals are fair game as they are not entitled to 4th amendment protections IMO.

[Standing Wolf]

Can we trust the F., the B., and the I. to distinguish between terrorism and criminality? The same F., B., and I. that couldn't find out anything about the September 11, 2001 terrorists before they struck?

I believe that bunch should get busy and prove its competence before it starts asking for more power.

[thorn726]

dont forget how closely linked drugs supposedly are to terror.
in some cases this is true.

in some cases US soldiers are getting hash from afghanis and sending it home.
some warlords sell opium for guns

and some hippies grow weed up north in CA.

but to the govt they are aLL terrorists, and could ultimately be treated as such.

they get this "snitch or be a felon" law in , and guess what- yer neighbor jsut made you a terrorist cuz you didnt notice something.

[rick_reno]

What are you - terrorists? I want them to do what they can to catch these miscreants, and if it involves a little soft shoe on the Constitution, big deal.

[Hardware]

Rick,
I sure hope you were being sarcastic.

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.- Benjamin Franklin

[cropcirclewalker]

Mr. Reno, you must have forgotten to put on the sarcastic brackets.

It is so simple, yet for some, so hard to understand.

When a good entity fights an evil entity with evil, then the evil entity won.

Osamer hasta be having a laughing fit over this one.

[The Grand Inquisitor]

Who remembers when the FBI was an orginization of the best cops around, gumshows in suits who did hard work - now they're para-military thugs who break down doors and shoot first and ask questions second.

Oh yeah, in those old days....the ATF didn't even exist.