Shocker! FBI report reveals PATRIOT Act abuses

Breaking News: the Bush administration's Justice Department is abusing certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.

Okay, this isn't breaking news. In fact, it shouldn't be news to anyone - this was as predictable as death. Anyway, an FBI audit has turned up the abuses, despite repeated assurances by Bush and his various attorneys general that adequate safeguards are in place.

I seem to remember vast amounts of the hostility from this administration and the GOP to Democrats for raising this very concern when it came time to renew the Act in 2005. "The Democrats are siding with the terrorists" and "don't want to give us the tools we need to fight terrorism" chirped the president and his sycophants. Sure enough, in 2006, Bush got his way, signing re-authorization provisions into law in 2006, sans much of the needed safeguards opponents wanted for guaranteeing civil liberties.

From the ACLU:

A report released yesterday by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General on the FBI's use of National Security Letters (NSLs) reveals a systemic, widespread abuse of power.

The National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act radically expanded the FBI's authority to demand personal records like Web site visits and e-mail addresses without prior court approval. The provision also allows the FBI to forbid or "gag" anyone who receives an NSL from telling anyone about the record demand.

Remarkably, the report notes two instances where the FBI, on its own initiative, issued NSLs to get sensitive information after the FISA court had already rejected its requests. There are currently bills in both the House and Senate that would narrow the scope of the FBI's NSL authority and bring the statute back in line with the Constitution.

Bills are currently in Congress to make necessary changes to the PATRIOT Act, but I'm not holding my breath, considering this Congress' record of standing down Bush on important issues. It's important that we all contact our elected legislators to demand that they make the changes now. If you don't know names, addresses and phone numbers of your legislators, click Here, or call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 225-3121 and you'll be put right through.

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