Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit Filed Against the Justice Dept Over Patriot Act
Published October 24, 2002
In a letter to the ACLU dated Sept. 3, the Justice Department agreed to respond to the FOIA request speedily, acknowledging that the request concerned "a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government's integrity which affect public confidence." The FBI made similar promises. Yet to date, Jaffer said, neither agency has disclosed any records in response to the ACLU request nor stated which records, if any, it is going to disclose.
The ACLU and the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed the lawsuit as attorneys for their organizations and for the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the Freedom to Read Foundation, citing concerns that the new surveillance laws threaten the First Amendment-protected activities of librarians, library patrons, booksellers and their customers, and investigative journalists.
The FOIA request, which was filed on August 21, seeks general information about the use of new surveillance powers, including the number of times the government has:
- Directed a library, bookstore or newspaper to produce "tangible things," e.g, the titles of books an individual has purchased or borrowed or the identity of individuals who have purchased or borrowed certain books;
Initiated surveillance of Americans under the expanded Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act;
Conducted "sneak and peek" searches, which allow law enforcement to enter people's homes and search their belongings without informing them until long after;
Authorized the use of devices to trace the telephone calls or e-mails of people who are not suspected of any crime;
Investigated American citizens or permanent legal residents on the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment (e.g., writing a letter to the editor or attending a rally).
Some of the information was previously sought by the House Judiciary Committee, and last week Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., (R-WI), the Chairman of the Committee, reported that he had received some of the information in classified form.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Sensenbrenner's findings last week:
- "I'm satisfied for now" that Justice officials have responded to Congress, Sensenbrenner said in an interview Wednesday. But he promised "more questions" in the future.
What do the Justice Department's disclosures reveal about how the hotly debated USA Patriot Act has been used in the war on terrorism?
- Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit Filed Against the Justice Dept Over Patriot Act
- Published: October 24, 2002
- Type:
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Books: News
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments on this articleComments
I believe I have been/am a victim.
The USA Patriot Act is communism at its best. Who won the cold war? Is the Fed really protecting our freedom? Uh oh.. I've gone and incriminated myself by exercising my right to speach. I'd better dump my mp3s and dispose of my CDRs...
S. and Linda, Please tell why you feel you have been/are victims.
If you have nothing to hide.....who cares if they are checking out what you read. If this helps set up warning flags which may help stop derranged individuals from harming others - then is that not a good thing? Why are americans so hell bent on protecting criminals? The American Criminal Liberals United(ACLU) league strikes again.
David, are you absolutely sure you have nothing to hide? You may be surprised what has been collected.
David, think about it. So you have nothing to hide; does that mean you're ok with the government's ability to peer into every personal aspect of your life? Does privacy mean nothing to you? Even innocent acts may appear suspicious to someone else, and if we know we're being watched, we may tend to act more secretively, thereby increasing our neighbors' suspicions. This is how fascist governments begin.
i,m a canadain reading this article do,nt let the goverment get control of your basic freedom of privacy. laws and plicies our shoved down our throats with not so much as a vote on it by public.stand up for your rights an freedoms, i know terrorism is out there but goverment is using the laws to upsurp the people of it,d nation.
In our town people are not as fearful of "terrorism" (we have always had it in the world), as they are of the thugs that are hired to search us at the airports. You give a person like that a little authority and he/she becomes the judge, jury, and executioner......all the while opperating in an environment of total support from other "police". The private indiviual believes he/she lives in a "police/military" state. There should be a representative of the individual airlines present at these check points
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I believe I have been/am a victim.