[wordup] Patriot Act Suppresses News Of Challenge to Patriot Act

[Adam Shand]

Via: "The Eristocracy" <Eristocracy at merrymeet.com>
From: 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51423-2004Apr28.html

Patriot Act Suppresses News Of Challenge to Patriot Act

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 29, 2004; Page A17

The American Civil Liberties Union disclosed yesterday that it filed a 
lawsuit three weeks ago challenging the FBI's methods of obtaining many 
business records, but the group was barred from revealing even the 
existence of the case until now.

The lawsuit was filed April 6 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, but 
the case was kept under seal to avoid violating secrecy rules contained 
in the USA Patriot Act, the ACLU said. The group was allowed to release 
a redacted version of the lawsuit after weeks of negotiations with the 
government.

"It is remarkable that a gag provision in the Patriot Act kept the 
public in the dark about the mere fact that a constitutional challenge 
had been filed in court," Ann Beeson, the ACLU's associate legal 
director, said in a statement. "President Bush can talk about extending 
the life of the Patriot Act, but the ACLU is still gagged from 
discussing details of our challenge to it."

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the case.

The ACLU alleges that a section of the act is unconstitutional because 
it allows the FBI to request financial records and other documents from 
businesses without a warrant or judicial approval. The group also says 
such requests, known as "national security letters," are being used 
much more broadly than they were before the Patriot Act.

The bureau has issued scores of the letters since late 2001 that 
require businesses to turn over electronic records about finances, 
telephone calls, e-mail and other personal information, according to 
previously released documents. The letters, a type of administrative 
subpoena, may be issued independently by FBI field offices and are not 
subject to judicial review unless a case comes to court.

The ACLU's complaint focuses on the use of national security letters to 
obtain information held by "electronic communication service 
providers." The group says the letters could force Internet providers 
to turn over names, screen names, e-mail addresses and other customer 
information without proper notice to the people involved.

The lawsuit names as defendants Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, FBI 
Director Robert S. Mueller III and FBI Senior Counsel Marion E. "Spike" 
Bowman. A second plaintiff has joined the ACLU in filing the lawsuit, 
but that plaintiff's identity has been redacted from the public copy of 
the complaint.

© 2004 The Washington Post Company