Administration Wants Secret Power to Seize Records
by TChris
Ever eager to grab more power while evading judicial scrutiny, the Bush administration wants to give the FBI the power to subpoena business and financial records without satisfying a judge that the records are likely to reveal evidence of a crime. Federal investigators would avoid judicial review of document seizures by declaring that the records are needed in a terrorism investigation. The proposal is consistent with the administration's philosophy: utter the word terrorism and, while everyone ducks, suspend the Constitution.
The proposal, part of a broader plan to extend antiterrorism powers under the USA Patriot Act, was concluded in recent days by Republican leaders on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in consultation with the Bush administration, Congressional officials said.
The folks who brought us the Patriot Act assure us that the proposed side-stepping of judicial review is nothing to worry about. In fact, they can't think of a "coherent argument" against it. Here's one:
"This is a dramatic expansion of the federal government's power," said Lisa Graves, senior counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington. "It's really a power grab by the administration for the F.B.I. to secretly demand medical records, tax records, gun purchase records and all sorts of other material if they deem it relevant to an intelligence investigation."
The government usually has little difficulty persuading a judge to order the production of documents, but even that limited check on unfettered power is too much to bear for the Bush administration.
Update: (TL): The Senate Intelligence Committee is rushing this through and is scheduled to hold a closed-door hearing today. The ACLU has more:
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.
Check out the ACLU's sunset page.
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