01/07/2004: 
Fraud & Conspiracy
Bush uses Slight of Hand, Misdirection, to Furthur Chip Away at Ameican Civil Liberties
or All Your Records Are Belong to Us
from Wired
While the nation was distracted last month by images of Saddam Hussein's spider hole and dental exam, President George W. Bush quietly signed into law a new bill that gives the FBI increased surveillance powers and dramatically expands the reach of the USA Patriot Act.
The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 grants the FBI unprecedented power to obtain records from financial institutions without requiring permission from a judge.
Under the law, the FBI does not need to seek a court order to access such records, nor does it need to prove just cause.
The new law (see Section 374 of the act), lets the FBI acquire these records through an administrative procedure whereby an FBI field agent simply drafts a so-called national security letter stating the information is relevant to a national security investigation.
And the law broadens the definition of "financial institution" to include such businesses as insurance companies, travel agencies, real estate agents, stockbrokers, the U.S. Postal Service and even jewelry stores, casinos and car dealerships. WTF!
The law also prohibits subpoenaed businesses from revealing to anyone, including customers who may be under investigation, that the government has requested records of their transactions.
Bush signed the bill on Dec. 13, a Saturday, which was the same day the U.S. military captured Saddam Hussein.
So does this make the definition of a "financial institution" any establishment in which financial transactions take place?
More
Some columnists and bloggers have accused the president of signing the legislation on a weekend, when news organizations traditionally operate with a reduced staff, to avoid public scrutiny and criticism. Any attention that might have been given the bill, they say, was supplanted by a White House announcement the next day about Hussein's capture.James Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy & Technology, didn't see any significance to the timing of Bush's signing. The 2004 fiscal year began Oct. 1 and the Senate passed the bill in November. He said there was pressure to pass the legislation to free up intelligence spending.
However, Dempsey called the inclusion of the financial provision "an intentional end-run" by the administration to expand the administration's power without proper review.
Critics like Dempsey say the government is trying to pass legislation that was shot down prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the Bush administration drafted a bill to expand the powers of the Patriot Act.
The so-called Patriot Act II was discovered by the Center for Public Integrity last year, which exposed the draft legislation and initiated a public outcry that forced the government to back down on its plans.
But critics say the government didn't abandon its goals after the uproar; it simply extracted the most controversial provisions from Patriot Act II and slipped them surreptitiously into other bills, such as the Intelligence Authorization Act, to avoid raising alarm.
Dempsey said the Intelligence Authorization Act is a favorite vehicle of politicians for expanding government powers without careful scrutiny. The bill, because of its sensitive nature, is generally drafted in relative secrecy and approved without extensive debate because it is viewed as a "must-pass" piece of legislation. The act provides funding for intelligence agencies.
"It's hard for the average member to vote against it," said Dempsey, "so it makes the perfect vehicle for getting what you want without too much fuss."
There is a lot more to this Wired article. If you are a citizen of the United Corporations of America, it might be best if you read and understood what Bush is doing.
4 Annotations Submitted
Wednesday the 7th of January, santo26 noted:
Ah, mr. wiggins, congrats on sticking another sword into the giant dragon that is the Bush, Jr. administration. There is nothing I hate more than congress sticking horrid pieces of legislation into random appropriations bills, and the timing of the signing into law coinciding with the capture of saddam? WTF of the week!
Do you know if YOUR congressman voted for this? Do you know anything about what your congressman does or even his name? In our disgust we have left politics up to the professionals, and look what it has brought us. Vigilance and engagement are the keys to fixing the government!
Also, remember Oklahoma City? Congress passed a huge USA Patriot- esque bill in 1995 to this terrorist attack as well. What was in that? We need to look at these bills carefully.
Jeez, if we have a few more terrorist attacks and a few more USA Patriot acts follow, Homeland Security will be able to supboena your toilet flushing records! what, you don't want tom ridge to know how many times you flushed the toilet? What are you a fucking comm- i mean terrorist?
Wednesday the 7th of January, prof_booty noted:
wiggins- look in to the FISA act
Wednesday the 7th of January, awiggins noted:
Ok, FISA does allow for a broader extent of wiretapping and other associated counterintelligence activities. However it still protects US citizens from these activities without probable cause.
If the target is a "U.S. person," which includes permanent resident aliens and associations and corporations substantially composed of U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, 50 U.S.C.A. § 1801(i), there must be probable cause to believe that the U.S. person's activities "may" or "are about to" involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States.
There does seem to be the possibility of abuse, but at least some checks are in place. The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 allows for access to anybody, any time, for any reason. The hell with probable cause.
Wednesday the 7th of January, prof_booty noted:
the thing about FISA courts is that they are secret. rumor has it they have never denied a warrant request.
