USA Patriot Act I  Immediately post 9/11  Expanded search authority  Roving wiretaps  Monitor private internet and traffic  Acquisition of library and bookstore records (Section 215) Basis for information request is made solely on the assertion of the government that there is a connection to an ongoing investigation; target does not have to be a suspect

First Amendment Implications of USA Patriot I  Lowered standards for denying FOIA requests means less information in the marketplace  Expanded assertions of executive privilege and the need for secrecy, even in areas unrelated to national security (ie. energy)  Potential targeting of domestic dissent by agencies like the CIA  Disciplining of students, teachers, and editors who question official administration policy Proxy groups involved in “spying”—report your professors for any “un-American” activities

Patriot II—Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003  Eliminate distinctions between domestic and international terrorism in statute Takes restrictions off certain Fed agencies Changes focus from criminal prosecution to national security  DNA database of suspected terrorists— defined as “person suspected of being a member of a terrorist organization” (OK, how do we know it’s a terrorist organization? Ahhhh! It’s got THOSE guys as members!)

Patriot II continued  Grants new powers to the Attorney General to authorize warrantless searches or surveillance (now possible only when a Declaration of War is issued)  Amends rules for expatriation (stripping citizenship—allowed for anyone found to be providing material support for a terrorist organization (even if that person didn’t know or have the intent of supporting terrorism)  Tightens restriction on FOIA requests

Commentary on Patriot II  “The Bush administration’s draft Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive ‘suspicion’, create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups.”  Professor David Cole, Georgetown University, “What Patriot Act II Proposes to Do,”