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The Justice Department obtained a record number of wiretap and surveillance warrants against suspected spies and terrorists in 2004, according to this AP story by Mark Sherman.
But the rise from 2003 didn't even keep up with inflation. In 2004, there were 1,754 warrants issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). In 2003, the special FISA court authorized 1,724 requests.
These warrants were originally authorized by Congress in 1978 to allow the FBI greater leeway in tracking spies after surveillance and searches were clamped down on in the 1970s.
Those restrictions came after the country learned of decades of intrusive and politically motivated spying on Americans by Hoover's FBI, the CIA and the Pentagon.
The Patriot Act made it easier for the FBI to get such warrants, by redefining the threshold of suspicion and expanding the possible purposes of a search.
Also of note from last week, one of the most active Senate committees overseeing anti-terrorism programs released a report, called "Three Years after September 11: Keeping America Safe."
The report makes the case for giving the FBI the power to surveil so-called "lone wolf" terrorists, for updating the criminal code to stiffen penalties for possessing deadly weapons -- including dirty bombs, and for cracking down on identity theft.
Also in the mix is support for biometric identification and criticism of Saudi Arabia.
The full report by the Senate Judiciary committee's Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security subcommittee can be found in .pdf format here.
Also notable however is this sentence about the committee's attempt at oversight of the Patriot Act:
While the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have provided information to the Subcommittee, requests to the Department of Justice to provide a comprehensive report assessing the effect and efficacy of the sixteen provision of the Patriot Act subject to “sunset” remain unfulfilled. Such a report is a critical element in the Subcommittee’s, and indeed the entire Committee’s, responsibility to provide meaningful oversight before determining whether to change the law with respect to these provisions.
It's a shame that the DOJ hasn't been more forthcoming about its anti-terrorism efforts with this subcommittee or the American public.
Unfortunately, it takes criticism that comes awfully close to fearmongering to get the Justice Department to share even a sliver of information with the public about how it uses Patriot Act powers.
It is to the Justice department's discredit as a government agency that they refuse to provide even the most rudimentary statistics about their use of Patriot Act powers, unless they are under Congressional mandate.
Their arrogant silence only feeds those who too easily believe in conspiracies.
That institutional silence is also counter-productive, in that it enrages critics who want to have a full and open debate about the limits and necessity of government power.
The full committee, led by Republican Senator Arlen Specter
will hold a hearing on the Patriot Act on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. (For those not in D.C., Senate hearings are almost always webcast (check the committee's homepage.)
As most of you know, portions of the Patriot Act expire in December unless Congress explicitly reauthorizes them this year.
Posted by Ryan Singel at April 4, 2005 09:57 AM
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