It seems like there is a bunch of misinformation about the Patriot Act out there so I ask one thing for everyone in this thread. Please read the Patriot Act and find the truth out for yourself. Don't just take other people's words. That goes for both Liberals and Conservatives.
Ashcroft: Patriot Act on Parade
Associated Press Page 1 of 1
03:28 PM Aug. 18, 2003 PT
Attorney General John Ashcroft will visit states key to President Bush's re-election to defend the government's use of the antiterrorism USA Patriot Act, which is drawing increased criticism as a threat to civil liberties.
After an opening speech Tuesday at a conservative Washington think tank, Ashcroft will embark on a campaign-style road trip, delivering remarks Wednesday and Thursday to law enforcement audiences in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit and Des Moines, Iowa.
Among the dozen or so future stops are Salt Lake City and Boston, officials said Monday. The Justice Department is putting up an Internet site on Tuesday to reinforce the pro-Patriot Act message, and all 94 U.S. attorneys are being encouraged to hold town hall-style meetings to stress the law's benefits in fighting terrorism.
"There is a lot of confusion about what the Patriot Act does and does not do," said Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh. "We are going to try to better educate the public."
The central theme is that the Patriot Act deserves a large measure of credit for the failure of terrorists to conduct a major attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. The law was passed by Congress a few weeks after those attacks.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the sales pitch is needed to combat what he called "a small minority that has spread misinformation about these provisions. It's important to talk about the successes we're achieving, to educate the American people and to set the record straight."
Ashcroft will stress the Patriot Act's removal of a barrier that had prevented intelligence agents from sharing information with criminal investigators and prosecutors. Also highlighted will be such provisions as the "roving wiretap" authority that enables investigators to track phones over multiple jurisdictions under a single warrant.
The law and Ashcroft's support of it have become political punching bags for the Democratic presidential candidates and other top party members. Earlier this month, former Vice President Al Gore said in a speech at New York University that the law allows President Bush to "send his assistants into every public library in America and secretly monitor what the rest of us are reading."
Justice officials say that claim is one of many examples of misperceptions about the law. They say that books, documents or other records from any source, including a library, can only be examined by the FBI under the Patriot Act in an international terrorism or intelligence investigation and only with approval of a federal judge.
Still, such perceptions have led to passage of anti-Patriot Act resolutions by legislators in Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont and by more than 142 local governments. The Republican-led House also voted recently to restrict so-called "sneak and peek" searches that allow for delayed notification of the target.
The ACLU insists that these actions show growing concern that the Patriot Act could expose innocent citizens to improper surveillance and searches.
"How often do you see the attorney general go on a sort of a charm offensive?" asked Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's Washington office. "I see this as a defensive measure on his part. It is a political campaign."
David Rohde, political science professor at Michigan State University, noted that Ashcroft's initial foray takes him through key swing states in the 2004 presidential race: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio.
The campaign could help prevent the eventual Democratic nominee from using perceptions about the Patriot Act against Bush, Rohde said.
"The hope is that if the Democrats can draw people's attention to things they don't like about the Patriot Act, eventually that will spill over onto President Bush," Rohde said. "The criticism of the Patriot Act is also a way of motivating core Democratic constituencies."
Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said presidential politics have no bearing on the itinerary and pointed out that Ashcroft has made appearances from coast to coast in support of law enforcement officials fighting the war on terrorism.
"The intent is to keep everyone in law enforcement focused on the No. 1 priority of preventing another terrorist attack," Corallo said.
