Sensenbrenner Speaks Out
After holding his fire since before Christmas, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, (R-WI), gets his say in a USA Today op-ed. The opening paragraph says it all. Here it is:
Zero. That’s the number of substantiated USA Patriot Act civil liberties violations. Extensive congressional oversight found no violations. Six reports by the Justice Department’s independent inspector general, who is required to solicit and investigate any allegations of abuse, found no violations. Intense public scrutiny has yet to find a single civil liberty abuse. Despite many challenges, no federal court has declared unconstitutional any of the Patriot Act provisions Congress is renewing.
In other words, Chairman Sensenbrenner thinks that all the rhetoric before the first temporary extension was just that: rhetoric focused on theoretical possibilities, at least in the mind of paranoid people. Because these provisions are closely monitored, civil rights violations aren’t likely to happen. We know that they haven’t thus far.
Most important, this renewal would permanently tear down the pre-9/11 “wall” that prevented the FBI and CIA from communicating. This law recognizes the vital importance of sharing information to “connect the dots.” The Patriot Act has made it much more difficult for America’s enemies to live openly among us as they plot to murder innocent Americans.
This is far and away the single biggest improvement caused by the USA Patriot Act. Had the USA Patriot Act been in place when the Able Danger people wanted to brief the FBI on the activities of Mohammad Atta, we might have prevented 9/11.
Yes, I care about protecting my civil rights but I care alot more about staying alive.
Cross-post at LetFreedomRing
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:31 am
As opposition wilts, Senate moves to extend Patriot Act
WASHINGTON — The Senate yesterday cleared the path for renewing the USA Patriot Act, swatting aside