Report Finds No Abuse of Patriot Act
Wednesday, January 28, 2004; Page A02
The Justice Department has found no incidents in which the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act has been invoked to abuse civil rights or civil liberties but has identified instances of mistreatment of Muslims and Arabs that did not involve the act, according to a report released yesterday by the agency's inspector general.
The Bush administration is trying to persuade Congress to renew the law, which expires in 2005 and faces a legion of critics who contend that its expansion of government surveillance powers violates constitutional free speech and privacy rights.
"It is clear that the government has been thoroughly responsible in its implementation of the act," Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said. "As the president has said, it is vital that Congress reauthorize these provisions."
Posted by P6 at January 28, 2004 07:45 AM
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Comments
I wonder how much of that is tautology. "It isn't an abuse to correctly invoke the act, no matter how abusive the act itself is" sort of thing.
Posted by Phelps at January 28, 2004 12:21 PM