Repeal the USA Patriot Act

by Jennifer Van Bergen

t r u t h o u t   |

 April 1, 2002 This is the first in a six-part series

of articles on the USA Patriot Act:

"Uniting and Strengthening America

by Providing Appropriate Tools Required

 to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism."

 This Act, passed in response to the September 11th,

2001 terrorist attacks on our country,

was passed hastily and in a time of fear.

 

It affects all of us in some very basic and important ways.

Part I of this series states briefly why we should demand the

immediate repeal or amendment of the USA Patriot Act.

Part II walks the reader back in time to look at two acts,

which were also passed hastily and in a time of fear.

The Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798 parallel

the USA Patriot Act in many respects,

and offer some important warnings.

Part III discusses the recent emergence of troubling evidence

of violations of civil rights under the USA Patriot Act,

 and looks at the disturbing possibility of torture being used.

Parts IV and V look at specific sections of the Act.

 Part IV covers how the Act mixes criminal law

and foreign intelligence work, puts

the CIA back in the business of spying on Americans,

allows law enforcement to enter your home

without you knowing it, and can track

your emails and internet activity.

 

Part V will discuss how the Act punishes some people

for engaging in innocent First Amendment associational

activity, violates other civil rights of immigrants,

uses secret evidence, curbs judicial oversight,

and invades financial and student records.

 

Part VI discusses national security concerns, sums up,

 and closes with a potent exhortation to Americans,

 made over 200 years ago by Senator Edward Livingston.

 

Part I: This Law is Dangerous.

The USA Patriot Act is an insult to Americans.

The name, itself, is insulting, given what the Act contains

and what it will someday be known for:

its complete abdication of democratic law and principles.

It should be called the Constitution Shredding Act.

 

 In particular, it utterly relinquishes any semblance

of due process, violates the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth

 and Eighth Amendments, and unacceptably mixes aspects

of criminal investigations with aspects of immigration

and foreign intelligence laws.

Let me state it even more bluntly.

This law is dangerous.

It­ is a travesty.

 What is worse is that few Americans

have the slightest idea what this law contains

or what it means. Why is this?

 

Because, the USA Patriot Act has several clever catches

in it that have enabled it to slip by the awareness

of the average law-abiding citizen.

 

First, it relates mostly to foreign nationals.

(So it can­ affect U.S. citizens, right? Wrong.)

 

 Second, it deals with terrorism.

(And we­ are not terrorists, are we? Donât be so sure.)

 If you think this law applies only to the bad guys

who attacked our nation, think again.

 

Many provisions in this law apply to

and will affect Americans, in many, bad ways.

 

What is more frightening about it is that,

despite the fact that the USA Patriot Act was passed

 hastily without any debate or hearings and

 under a cloak of fear, its provisions were obviously

very carefully thought out and crafted

 to take power out of the hands of courts

and ensure absolute lack of oversight

of law enforcement and intelligence gathering.

 

 There is no way that the USA Patriot Act came

into existence solely in response to September 11th.

 

In fact, it is clear from prior legislative and case history

 that law enforcement and intelligence have been trying

for many years to obtain these powers.

It is only the unreasoning "bunker mentality"

that followed September 11th that allowed its planners

to pass it. Indeed, one might question whether

Congress could sincerely have intended this Act,

given that portions of it are re-enactments of the 1996

 anti-terrorism laws which had been repeatedly

ruled unconstitutional by federal courts.

One must wonder whether congress-

 persons were in their right minds.

If they were not, this law cannot be valid.

 Most troubling is that most of these powers

do little to increase the ability of law enforcement

or intelligence to bring terrorists to justice,

 but, they do much to undermine the Constitution

and violate the rights of both immigrants

and American citizens alike.

 

 Another reason why Americans do not yet know

what a terrifying weapon has been put in their

government hand is that the Act is extremely

nuanced and amends numerous other laws.

One provision, for example, merely amends

the words of an earlier act, which had read

"the purpose," to read "a significant purpose."

What difference could that tiny change make?

 

It opens the door for the FBI to evade the probable cause

warrant requirement in criminal investigations whenever

 the FBI decides the information might have

"a significant purpose" in an intelligence investigation.

No court can intervene.

In other words, the legal protection that a court

must determine that there is probable cause

of criminal activity before a search or seizure

can be made is totally discarded here.

If the FBI thinks the information might contribute

to an investigation, whatever the target­

activity might be, legal or not,

the FBI can simply go search and seize.

(And under the new "sneak and peek" provisions,

 they can do so without you ever knowing it.)

Notice also that this clause mixes foreign intelligence

gathering with domestic criminal investigation,

allowing the FBI to spy on Americans whom no court

has determined have done anything wrong.

 

Finally, this information, under another provision

of the Act, can now be shared with the CIA,

in violation of its charter, which bars it from

engaging in domestic spying.

 

As the ACLU analysis of this section states,

this simple little clause is being used

"as an end-run around

the Fourth Amendment."

It is a "power grab [that] will sweep in Americans"

as well as aliens. It behooves us to take a good,

 solid look at the USA Patriot Act,

 so we can tell our representatives

what we think of it.

Tomorrow, we will take a walk back in time to look at

two acts that were also enacted hastilyin a time of fear.

 The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 parallel

the USA Patriot Act in several respects

and offer some important warnings.

Jennifer Van Bergen holds a law degree

from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law,

is an adjunct faculty member at the

New School for Social Research in New York,

 and is a member of the Board of

 the ACLU Broward County, Florida Chapter.

 

Jennifer Van Bergen

<mailto:JVB@truthout.com

  is an Editor and a regular contributor to t r u t h o u t.

Repeal the USA Patriot Act

| Part I <http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.02A.JVB.Patriot.htm>  | Part II <http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.03D.JVB.Patriot.htm>  | Part III <http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.04E.JVB.Patriot.htm>  | Part IV <http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.05D.JVB.Patriot.htm>  | Part V <http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.06D.JVB.Patriot.htm>  | Part VI <http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.07D.JVB.Patriot.htm>