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Old 03-09-2007, 09:56 AM   #1 (permalink)
Junkie
 
The Beginning of the End of the Patriot Act?

FBI Illegally Used Patriot Act, Audit Says   click to show 


This audit goes to show that individuals cannot be allowed to police themselves. When unchecked power is given to an entity it will use that power however it deems fit.

There are a couple of things in this article that really bother me (besides the blatent abuse of power).

Quote:
Fine's annual review is required by Congress, over the objections of the Bush administration.
Why would Bush not want a review so bad unless he knew something was wrong?

Quote:
The audit blames agent error and shoddy record-keeping for the bulk of the problems and did not find any indication of criminal misconduct.
How can they blame this on agent error and shoddy record-keeping when 700 letters were signed by unauthorized people? You don't accidentally sign a letter you are not authorized to do.

Quote:
The FBI also used so-called "exigent letters," signed by officials at FBI headquarters who were not authorized to sign national security letters, to obtain information. In at least 700 cases, these exigent letters were sent to three telephone companies to get toll billing records and subscriber information.

This is blatent abuse of the patriot act and goes to show why a majority of it should be overturned.

One thing this audit does not report is out of the 4000+ NSLs sent out how many of them resulted in terrorist information and out of them how many of them could not have been gotten without a proper warrant?

Last edited by Rekna; 03-09-2007 at 09:59 AM..
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Old 03-09-2007, 10:33 AM   #2 (permalink)
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Well, i must say that i am shocked - SHOCKED!!! that the fbi would improperly use its power. It's certainly something that has never happened before and i look forward, once this is all cleared up, to it never happening again.
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Old 03-09-2007, 10:43 AM   #3 (permalink)
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But how do you feel that the White House would use its authority in an attempt to allow them to continue this abuse?
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Old 03-09-2007, 10:55 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rekna
But how do you feel that the White House would use its authority in an attempt to allow them to continue this abuse?
Frankly, i'd be surprised if they didn't. It sucks, but it's been the status quo for this administration; they don't seem to have much respect for the ideals that are the foundation of this country.
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Old 03-09-2007, 12:43 PM   #5 (permalink)
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I'm sure it was an honest mistake, they will fix things up and be right on track again!
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Old 03-09-2007, 01:41 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rekna
One thing this audit does not report is out of the 4000+ NSLs sent out how many of them resulted in terrorist information and out of them how many of them could not have been gotten without a proper warrant?
This is actually information that I kind of want to know.

The Patriot Act was installed in order to effectively combat terrorism...not?
If it was used for "other" purposes, and that same information could've been garnered through (I hesitate to say)..."legitimate" sources, then I have a much bigger issue with this.
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Old 03-09-2007, 01:50 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
This is blatent abuse of the patriot act and goes to show why a majority of it should be overturned.
Rekna, I think this is an excellent discussion topic in that the Patriot Act is one of the primary instruments in deconstructing the balance of power between the branches of government. Every element that has weakened or removed Congressional oversight over the executive and judicial branches has further marginalized the voice and the rights of the American citizenry.

In addition to the instance you cited, we have recently learned that the AG was firing US Attorney's without cause and replacing them without Congressional oversite. Fortunately, Gonsales has been forced to back down by Congress once the firings became public knowledge.

The Patriot Act is now under close scrutiny and it is my hope that the 110th will reassert it's oversite obligations as was intended by the founding fathers.
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Old 03-09-2007, 03:05 PM   #8 (permalink)
 
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Location: Washington DC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rekna
But how do you feel that the White House would use its authority in an attempt to allow them to continue this abuse?
Ahhhh...those infamous signing statements:
When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.

The bill contained several oversight provisions intended to make sure the FBI did not abuse the special terrorism-related powers to search homes and secretly seize papers. The provisions require Justice Department officials to keep closer track of how often the FBI uses the new powers and in what type of situations. Under the law, the administration would have to provide the information to Congress by certain dates.

Bush signed the bill with fanfare at a White House ceremony March 9, calling it ''a piece of legislation that's vital to win the war on terror and to protect the American people." But after the reporters and guests had left, the White House quietly issued a ''signing statement," an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law.

In the statement, Bush said that he did not consider himself bound to tell Congress how the Patriot Act powers were being used...

Bush wrote: ''The executive branch shall construe the provisions . . . that call for furnishing information to entities outside the executive branch . . . in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch and to withhold information . . .

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/ar...t_requirement/
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Old 03-10-2007, 12:13 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Signing statements have no legal impact though.
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