No. You don’t get any more toys:
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is working on a bill that would renew the Patriot Act and expand government powers in the name of fighting terrorism, letting the FBI subpoena records without permission from a judge or grand jury.
Much of the debate in Congress has concerned possibly limiting some of the powers in the anti-terrorism law passed 45 days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But the measure being written by Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., would give the FBI new power to issue administrative subpoenas, which are not reviewed by a judge or grand jury, for quickly obtaining records, electronic data or other evidence in terrorism investigations, according to aides for the GOP majority on the committee who briefed reporters Wednesday.
Recipients could challenge the subpoenas in court and the Bush administration would have to report to Congress twice a year exactly how it was using this investigatory power, the aides said.
The administration has sought this power for two years, but so far been rebuffed by lawmakers. It is far from certain that Congress will give the administration everything it wants this year.
I sincerely doubt they have any realistic expectation to get this, but at least Bob Barr is speaking out:
Opponents of expanding the Patriot Act said Roberts’ proposal would amount to an expansive wish list for the administration.
“While we’re fighting to bring provisions … back into balance with the Bill of Rights, here we have the intelligence committee moving to give the government more power outside the judicial system to gain access to records of Americans,” said former GOP Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia, a critic of the law.
Lisa Graves, the American Civil Liberties Union’s senior counsel for legislative strategy, said the new subpoena power would “be a dramatic expansion of secret search powers.”
I don’t like it one bit.
Stormy70
No, no, and NO! This is too far. It should be dead on arrival, and with good reason.
Mr Furious
Careful guys, you sound like you’re about ready to agree with the ACLU…
The card-carrying…
wild bird
Here come big brother and 1984 were losing our freedoms to the new world order and the UNs plans to make us into subjects under the UN dictators
Kimmitt
The administration has sought this power for two years,
I just want to point out that this is consistent with my thesis regarding the Bush Administration’s theory of government.
Andrei
“No, no, and NO! This is too far.”
Wow. Your threshold for pain seems to be much farther than mine. I was done with the first draft version of the Patriot Act.
“Here come big brother and 1984 were losing our freedoms to the new world order and the UNs plans to make us into subjects under the UN dictators”
Uhhh…. The U.N.? New World Order? The Patriot Act has nothing to do with the U.N. and has been thrust upon us by own elected leaders while too many have turned a blind eye to it. Let’s not toss out distractions from the real problem here.
TJ Jackson
You’ll pardon me if I reserve comment on the validity of this article until I read what the proposed change is for myself.
Most of the attacks on the Patriot Act have been so much hot air. Had the ACLU been able to find one abuse we would have seen it on every tv screen 24×7.
Yawn……
Libertine
Hi boys and girls. Can you say “police state”? Very good I knew you could…
Subpoenas? We don’t have no stinkin’ subpoenas…we don’t need no stinkin’ subpoenas.