The Patriot Act, The Forest Giveaway, Medicare Drug Shafting and more

CIVIL LIBERTIES
Unpatriotic Propaganda

(More links available at the Center for American Progress.)

Attorney General John Ashcroft has repeatedly rebuffed requests by Congress and public interest groups for basic information about how the Patriot Act is being used. Now - in a cynical public relations ploy - Ashcroft has released a thirty-page piece of propaganda wrapped in the guise of public disclosure. The document does not contain information needed for members of Congress to make an informed decision about whether to extend provisions which expire in 2005. Instead, it avoids key issues, distorts basic law and presents a self-serving selection of Patriot Act "successes." Sign the petition calling for the removal of John Ashcroft.

DID ASHCROFT DELIBERATELY MISLEAD THE 9/11 COMMISSION?: In a loathsome attempt to discredit 9/11 commissioner Jamie Gorelick, Ashcroft publicly testified that a 1995 memo written by Gorelick created a "wall" between the intelligence community and law enforcement. Ashcroft said, "The 1995 guidelines and the procedures developed around them imposed draconian barriers, barriers between the law enforcement and intelligence communities. The wall effectively excluded prosecutors from intelligence investigations.The wall left intelligence agents afraid to talk with criminal prosecutors or agents." Ashcroft called the memo "the single greatest structural cause for the September 11 problem." Now, however, Ashcroft concedes that Gorelick's memo permitted "interaction and information sharing between prosecutors and intelligence officers" and allowed the FBI to use the fruits of an intelligence investigation "in a criminal prosecution." He attributes the lack of information sharing not to the Gorelick memo itself, but to "confusion" and "perception." Ashcroft still fails to mention that Gorelick's memo encouraged information sharing and was more lenient than the procedures put in place in August 2001 by Ashcroft's own Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson - which specifically reaffirmed the Gorelick memo and added additional requirements. Nevertheless, Ashcroft's dramatic reversal calls into serious question his sincerity during his April 13 appearance before the 9/11 Commission.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TERRORISM-RELATED PROSECUTORIAL ACTIVITIES: The central claim in the Justice Department report is that - presumably with the assistance of the PATRIOT Act - the Department has charged "310 defendants with criminal offenses as a result of terrorism investigations" since 9/11 "and 179 of those defendants have already been convicted." The carefully chosen language deftly avoids the central question, which is not how many people were convicted of routine criminal offenses, but how many were convicted of terrorist crimes. Without that information there is no way for Congress to evaluate whether the Patriot Act is an effective tool against terrorism.

REPORT IGNORES CONTROVERSIAL PROVISIONS: The report entirely avoids some of the most controversial sections of the Patriot Act. Specifically, there is no mention of Section 213 (which permits "sneak-and-peak" searches and seizures), Section 215 (which allows the government to seize any tangible thing from any person pursuant to a terrorist investigation) and Section 505 (which allows the Justice Department to compel the production of documents). With other controversial provisions, such Section 214 (which eased restrictions on wiretaps for non-terrorists), the report praises the value of the provisions but provides no information as to how or how often they have been used. Likewise, there is no actual information about how Section 206 (which permits vague authorizations for wiretaps) is being used - but the Justice Department does helpfully provide a hypothetical example of how it might be used.

REPORT MISSTATES BASIC LAW: The report credits Section 218 of the Patriot Act with allowing the Justice Department to adopt "new procedures designed to increase information sharing between intelligence and law enforcement officers." As result Ashcroft claimed that "to allow section 218...to sunset at the end of next year would be paramount to unilateral disarmament against al Qaeda." But "there was never any legal restriction on FBI intelligence investigators' authority to share evidence of criminal activity." This was the conclusion of the special federal appeals court convened to consider these issues in a November 18, 2002 decision.

REPORT REVEALS PATRIOT ACT IS OVERBROAD: Yesterday, Ashcroft said the report demonstrated the Patriot Act "has been our laser-guided weapon to prevent terrorist attacks." But Ashcroft's statements are belied by his own report. The report discusses how the Patriot Act has been used in a variety of criminal cases that have no relationship to terrorism. Not mentioned: the use of the Patriot Act to investigate a strip club owner suspected of bribing local politicians.

THE FALSE CHOICE: The report repeatedly implies our choices are to either extend the Patriot Act exactly as it exists now or revert back to the law as it existed before 9/11. But this is a false choice. There are legislative proposals that would preserve the provisions of the Patriot Act that are effective against terrorism while protecting civil liberties. Our favorites: The Civil Liberties Restoration Act and the SAFE Act.

The Daily Progress today also documents THE BIGGEST GIVEAWAY IN U.S. FORREST HISTORYbeing proposed that has environmentalists and hunters fuming. The timber industry is reportedly ecstatic about the rollback. And then it still continues:

MEDICARE - ONE OUT OF EVERY THREE RETIREES TO GET THE SHAFT: The New York Times reports, "New government estimates suggest that employers will reduce or eliminate prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare offers such coverage in 2006." Think about it - that's one out of every three retirees with employer benefits.

IRAQ – BLOOD MONEY: War can make you rich. The Los Angeles Times reports, the "vanguard of those who advocated war," are making a pretty penny off of their efforts.

TAXES – GOP CHILD CREDIT PLAN LEAVES POOR BEHIND AGAIN

AIDS – GLOBAL EXPERTS PAN BUSH'S PLAN: The Washington Post reports, "The Bush administration's prohibition against using money from its $15 billion global AIDS plan to buy foreign-produced generic drugs is complicating the delivery of medicine to some of the millions of poor people who badly need it, according to AIDS experts at an international conference" in Bangkok. The president's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief restricts unapproved generic drugs, even though the UN and other international aid groups have judged such drugs the cheapest and most efficient solution to the global epidemic. Experts said the Bush policy "slows the coordination" between the Bush plan and the people running treatment programs in the countries, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office "reached similar conclusions in a report issued this week." The New York Times reports Bush's inflexibility on generic drugs is one reason at least one supposed beneficiary of AIDS money has felt America's approach to be "arrogant and neocolonial."

INTELLIGENCE – STONEWALLING RELEASING A ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF CIA IRAQ INTEL. The CIA had prepared this for Bush (who doesn't like to read) and sent out 80 copies to people.

The DAILY PROGRESS REPORT, what an informative report to be e-mailed week days.