Mayfield II.Byline: The Register-Guard An April 4 Register-Guard editorial said the U.S. Department of Justice used the controversial "sneak and peek" provision of the USA Patriot Act USA PATRIOT Act [Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorists], 2001, U.S. to conduct secret searches of Portland attorney Brandon Mayfield's home. The editorial was based on an Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. story, which indicated that the Patriot Act Patriot Act: see USA PATRIOT Act. provision was used to spy on Mayfield, a Muslim wrongly accused in last year's railroad bombings in Spain. After the story and editorial were published, Justice officials denied the Patriot Act was involved, saying the searches were done under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Last week, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales For the New York Yankees infielder, see . Alberto Gonzales (born August 4 1955) is an American jurist who served as the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. acknowledged that two provisions of the Patriot Act, neither of them the "sneak and peak" powers, were involved. Both involved changes to FISA Noun 1. FISA - an act passed by Congress in 1978 to establish procedures for requesting judicial authorization for foreign intelligence surveillance and to create the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court; intended to increase United States counterintelligence; . One extended the amount of time that the government can conduct electronic surveillance on suspected spies or terrorists. The other made it easier for federal authorities to use FISA warrants to spy on suspects. |
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