At a hearing regarding the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act on Wednesday, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) questioned Assistant Attorney General David Kris about the discrepancy between what the bill was intended for and what it is actually used for.
Excerpt:
According to a July 2009 report from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, however, only three of the 763 “sneak-and-peek” requests authorized under the PATRIOT Act in fiscal year 2008 actually involved terrorism. 65% involved drug cases with no apparent link to terrorism. The greatest numbers of applications were reported by judges in the District of Hawaii, the Southern District of Texas, the Northern District of Georgia, and the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Feingold: “As I recall it was in something called the USA PATRIOT Act, which was passed in a rush after an attack on 9/11 that had to do with terrorism it didn’t have to do with regular, run-of-the-mill criminal cases. Let me tell you why I’m concerned about these numbers: That’s not how this was sold to the American people. It was sold as stated on DoJ’s website in 2005 as being necessary – quote – to conduct investigations without tipping off terrorists.”
Read more here:
http://www.examiner.com/x-23316-Madison-Independent-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Sen-Feingold-questions-use-of-PATRIOT-Act
The exchange can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSXMW2FMC7A&feature=player_embedded
I like this guy! Feingold for President 2012…