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Friday, September 19, 2003 Pittsburgh TribuneReview
Ashcroft rips 'Patriot' critics
By The Washington Post
Friday, September 19, 2003
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department Thursday escalated its attack on opponents of the USA Patriot Act, likening criticism of the anti-terrorism law to "castles in the air" and accusing some lawmakers of ignoring classified reports that showed the government had never used its power to monitor individuals' records at bookstores and libraries.
In an unusually sharp and at times sarcastic speech to police and prosecutors in Memphis, Attorney General John Ashcroft Thursday labeled critics of the law "hysterics" and said "charges of abuse of power are ghosts unsupported by fact or example."
"The fact is, with just 11,000 FBI agents and over a billion visitors to America's libraries each year, the Department of Justice has neither the staffing, the time nor the inclination to monitor the reading habits of Americans," Ashcroft said. "No offense to the American Library Association, but we just don't care. ...
"The charges of the hysterics," Ashcroft added, "are revealed for what they are: castles in the air built on misrepresentation; supported by unfounded fear; held aloft by hysteria."
Ashcroft's comments came after the release of a memo he wrote disclosing that the Justice Department has never used a controversial section of the Patriot Act that allows authorities in terrorism investigations to obtain records from libraries, bookstores and other businesses without notifying the subject of the probe.
That portion of the law, Section 215, had become a central focus of criticism from civil liberties groups, booksellers and librarians, and has been perhaps the most frequently cited example of potential government abuse by some lawmakers. By disclosing that the provision has never been used, Ashcroft and other Justice officials hope to neutralize much of the criticism and beat back attempts to curb the law, officials said.
The Justice Department did not disclose how many times investigators have used a similar tool, National Security Letters, to obtain business records. Sources have said that scores of such letters have been used since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The department also took special aim Thursday at some members of Congress who have implied that Ashcroft was spying on Americans' book-reading habits despite having access to classified reports that showed that the Patriot Act provision had never been used. The Justice Department updates the intelligence committees on its use of the Patriot law twice a year, and other members of Congress can request those reports, officials said.
"There are members of Congress who ought to be held accountable for their statements, because they had access to this information but continually charged that abuses were taking place," said Justice spokesman Mark Corallo. "They knew better. ... We hope that the release of this information will bring some rationality back to the debate."
Corallo declined to identify which lawmakers he was referring to. But some of the strongest congressional criticism in recent weeks has come in the Democratic presidential race. In a debate in Baltimore last week, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., warned of turning over "our constitutional rights to John Ashcroft" and decried "the notion that they are going to libraries to find out what books people are checking out, going to bookstores to find out what books are being purchased."
As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Edwards had access to the reports on the use of the Patriot Act.
Edwards' spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, said Thursday that Edwards, who voted for the Patriot Act when it was approved in October 2001, was concerned about potential abuse of some parts of the statute. She also said that Justice officials have offered confusing information about the monitoring of library use. One Justice official testified earlier this year that the FBI had sought records from about 50 libraries, but that most, if not all, of the requests were part of criminal investigations, not counter-terrorism probes.
"The senator believes that the law gives the attorney general too much discretion in this area," Palmieri said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the government's powers to monitor such records, said yesterday its concerns were not allayed. "What we've always been focused on is the scope of the law itself, and that hasn't changed at all," said ACLU attorney Ann Beeson. "They could use it tomorrow and we would never know, and that makes it extremely dangerous."
Posters Note:
Re legislation, the following must be kept in mind. More important than the good endings obtained from the proper operation/enforcement of the law are the very bad endings obtained from the improper operation/enforcement thereof. Additionally overly broad grants of power and or authority seem always to be abused by the grantee, against the grantor.
Ashcroft rips 'Patriot' critics
By The Washington Post
Friday, September 19, 2003
WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department Thursday escalated its attack on opponents of the USA Patriot Act, likening criticism of the anti-terrorism law to "castles in the air" and accusing some lawmakers of ignoring classified reports that showed the government had never used its power to monitor individuals' records at bookstores and libraries.
In an unusually sharp and at times sarcastic speech to police and prosecutors in Memphis, Attorney General John Ashcroft Thursday labeled critics of the law "hysterics" and said "charges of abuse of power are ghosts unsupported by fact or example."
"The fact is, with just 11,000 FBI agents and over a billion visitors to America's libraries each year, the Department of Justice has neither the staffing, the time nor the inclination to monitor the reading habits of Americans," Ashcroft said. "No offense to the American Library Association, but we just don't care. ...
"The charges of the hysterics," Ashcroft added, "are revealed for what they are: castles in the air built on misrepresentation; supported by unfounded fear; held aloft by hysteria."
Ashcroft's comments came after the release of a memo he wrote disclosing that the Justice Department has never used a controversial section of the Patriot Act that allows authorities in terrorism investigations to obtain records from libraries, bookstores and other businesses without notifying the subject of the probe.
That portion of the law, Section 215, had become a central focus of criticism from civil liberties groups, booksellers and librarians, and has been perhaps the most frequently cited example of potential government abuse by some lawmakers. By disclosing that the provision has never been used, Ashcroft and other Justice officials hope to neutralize much of the criticism and beat back attempts to curb the law, officials said.
The Justice Department did not disclose how many times investigators have used a similar tool, National Security Letters, to obtain business records. Sources have said that scores of such letters have been used since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The department also took special aim Thursday at some members of Congress who have implied that Ashcroft was spying on Americans' book-reading habits despite having access to classified reports that showed that the Patriot Act provision had never been used. The Justice Department updates the intelligence committees on its use of the Patriot law twice a year, and other members of Congress can request those reports, officials said.
"There are members of Congress who ought to be held accountable for their statements, because they had access to this information but continually charged that abuses were taking place," said Justice spokesman Mark Corallo. "They knew better. ... We hope that the release of this information will bring some rationality back to the debate."
Corallo declined to identify which lawmakers he was referring to. But some of the strongest congressional criticism in recent weeks has come in the Democratic presidential race. In a debate in Baltimore last week, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., warned of turning over "our constitutional rights to John Ashcroft" and decried "the notion that they are going to libraries to find out what books people are checking out, going to bookstores to find out what books are being purchased."
As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Edwards had access to the reports on the use of the Patriot Act.
Edwards' spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, said Thursday that Edwards, who voted for the Patriot Act when it was approved in October 2001, was concerned about potential abuse of some parts of the statute. She also said that Justice officials have offered confusing information about the monitoring of library use. One Justice official testified earlier this year that the FBI had sought records from about 50 libraries, but that most, if not all, of the requests were part of criminal investigations, not counter-terrorism probes.
"The senator believes that the law gives the attorney general too much discretion in this area," Palmieri said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the government's powers to monitor such records, said yesterday its concerns were not allayed. "What we've always been focused on is the scope of the law itself, and that hasn't changed at all," said ACLU attorney Ann Beeson. "They could use it tomorrow and we would never know, and that makes it extremely dangerous."
Posters Note:
Re legislation, the following must be kept in mind. More important than the good endings obtained from the proper operation/enforcement of the law are the very bad endings obtained from the improper operation/enforcement thereof. Additionally overly broad grants of power and or authority seem always to be abused by the grantee, against the grantor.
