Friday, March 21, 2008

The USA "PATRIOT" Act
Also known as "House Resolution 3162"
passed into law on 26 October 2001.
See Also: `Patriot' Act II of 2003


Contents


Participate:
Repeal The Patriot Act - Immediately! Completely!
United we stand for freedom or nothing


Nov. 13: Patriot Acts I & II--The New Assault on Liberty?
7pm at The Independent Institute Conference Center, 100 Swan Way, Oakland, Califorinia
(Near the Oakland Airport, off Hegenberger Road at Pardee Road and Swan Way).

Addressing nationwide concerns about the state of American civil liberties, the Independent Institute of Oakland has assembled a panel of distinguished experts to address the question, "PATRIOT Acts I & II - The New Assault on Liberty?" at a public forum with David Cole, Margaret Russell and James Bovard. For ticekts, call 510-632-1366, or fax 510-568-6040, e-mail info@independent.org. Admission is $15; Institute members is $10
David Cole is professor of Law, Georgetown University, and author of Enemy Aliens and Terrorism and The Constitution; Margaret Russell is a member of the ACLU's National Board, past chair, ACLU of Northern California, and professor of Law, Santa Clara University; and, James Bovard is a journalist, policy analyst and author of Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice and Peace to Rid the World of Evil.
The Independent Institute is a non-partisan, public policy research organization that sponsors comprehensive studies of critical social and economic issues. For more information, contact Bill Selover at 510-632-1366 x150.


PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY (seizure of assets without due process)
AUTHORITY TO INTERCEPT WIRE, ORAL, AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS RELATING TO TERRORISM
AUTHORITY TO INTERCEPT WIRE, ORAL, AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS RELATING TO COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE OFFENSES
AUTHORITY TO SHARE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATION
ROVING SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY UNDER THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT OF 1978
DURATION OF FISA SURVEILLANCE OF NON-UNITED STATES PERSONS WHO ARE AGENTS OF A FOREIGN POWER
AUTHORITY FOR DELAYING NOTICE OF THE EXECUTION OF A WARRANT
ACCESS TO RECORDS AND OTHER ITEMS UNDER THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT
MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITIES RELATING TO USE OF PEN REGISTERS AND TRAP AND TRACE DEVICES
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION
SUNSET [laws]
TITLE III--INTERNATIONAL MONEY LAUNDERING ABATEMENT AND ANTI-TERRORIST FINANCING ACT OF 2001
ANTI-TERRORIST FORFEITURE PROTECTION
AMENDMENTS RELATING TO REPORTING OF SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES
BANK SECRECY PROVISIONS AND ACTIVITIES OF UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES TO FIGHT INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
REPORT ON THE INTEGRATED AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR PORTS OF ENTRY AND OVERSEAS CONSULAR POSTS
DEFINITIONS RELATING TO TERRORISM
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S AUTHORITY TO PAY REWARDS TO COMBAT TERRORISM
DEFINITION OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM
DEFINITION OF FEDERAL CRIME OF TERRORISM
RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE REGARDING FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE COLLECTED UNDER FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT OF 1978
TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO DEFER SUBMITTAL TO CONGRESS OF REPORTS ON INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLIGENCE-RELATED MATTERS
FEASIBILITY STUDY ON USE OF BIOMETRIC IDENTIFIER SCANNING SYSTEM WITH ACCESS TO THE FBI INTEGRATED AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM AT OVERSEAS CONSULAR POSTS AND POINTS OF ENTRY TO THE UNITED STATES



"Just six weeks after the September 11 attacks, a panicked Congress passed the “USA PATRIOT Act,” an overnight revision of the nation's surveillance laws that vastly expanded the government's authority to spy on its own citizens and reduced checks and balances on those powers, such as judicial oversight. The government never demonstrated that restraints on surveillance had contributed to the attack, and indeed much of the new legislation had nothing to do with fighting terrorism. Rather, the bill represented a successful use of the terrorist attacks by the FBI to roll back unwanted checks on its power. . . . Under these changes and other authorities asserted by the Bush Administration, U.S. intelligence agents could conduct a secret search of an American citizen's home, use evidence found there to declare him an “enemy combatant,” and imprison him without trial. The courts would have no chance to review these decisions -- indeed, they might never even find out about them."

--Jay Stanley and Barry Steinhardt, "Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains:
The Growth of an American Surveillance SocietyState,"
ACLU Technology and Liberty Program, 1/15/03





"Many people do not know that the USA PATRIOT Act was already written and ready to go long before September 11th. . . . Similar antiterrorism legislation was enacted in the 1996 Antiterrorism Act, which however did little to prevent the events of 9/11, and many provisions had either been declared unconstitutional or were about to be repealed when 9/11 occurred. . . . History . . . shows that the Reagan and Bush I Administrations repeatedly attempted to push such laws through. Oklahoma City proved that only a `real' terrorist attack would convince Congress. Furthermore, it is obvious that the proponents of this amendment [to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)] know it is an end-run around the Fourth Amendment. They have had many years to think about it and have repeatedly shown their willingness to enact carefully crafted, unconstitutional laws."

--Jennifer Van Bergen, "The USA PATRIOT Act
Was Planned Before 9/11," truthout, 5/20/02

"[T]he USA PATRIOT Act . . . stands out as radical in its design. To an unprecedented degree, the Act sacrifices our political freedoms in the name of national security and upsets the democratic values that define our nation by consolidating vast new powers in the executive branch of government. . . . Chillingly, the Attorney General's response to the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act was not a pledge to use his new powers responsibly and guard against their abuse, but instead was a vow to step up his detention efforts. Conflating immigrant status with terrorist status, he declared: `Let the terrorists among us be warned, if you overstay your visas even by one day, we will arrest you.' . . . The Administration's blatant power grab, coupled with the wide array of anti-terrorism tools that the USA PATRIOT Act puts at its disposal, portends a wholesale suspension of civil liberties that will reach far beyond those who are involved in terrorist activities."

--Nancy Chang, "The USA PATRIOT Act: What's So Patriotic
About Trampling on the Bill of Rights?," Sr. Litigation Atty,
Center for Constitutional Rights, November 2001
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