PATRIOT act's reach expanded despite part being struck down.

On the same day Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. troops in Iraq, President Bush signed into law a new bill giving the FBI increased surveillance powers, effectively expanding the reach of the USA PATRIOT Act--even though part of the original act was recently struck down as unconstitutional. While Hussein's December 13, 2003, capture made headlines around the world, the signing of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004--which includes some of the provisions of the PATRIOT II draft legislation that created a firestorm of opposition when it was leaked to the media last year--received little media notice.

The Intelligence Authorization Act, which funds all intelligence activities of the federal government, grants the FBI unprecedented power to obtain records from financial institutions without a court order to access such records. Previously, under the PATRIOT Act, the FBI had to submit subpoena requests to a federal judge. Now, agents do not need to obtain prior judicial approval or demonstrate probable cause or a reason to believe that a targeted individual is involved in terrorist activity--or even a crime. The new law allows an agent to simply issue a "National Security Letter" to the entity from which it is requesting financial data.

The law prohibits subpoenaed businesses from revealing to anyone, including individuals who may be under investigation, that the government has requested records of their transactions or that businesses have turned over their records to the FBI. If a financial institution breaches the gag order, it faces criminal penalties. In addition, the FBI is no longer required to report to Congress how often its agents have used the National Security Letters.

The law also broadens the definition of "financial institution" to include insurance companies, travel and real estate agencies, stockbrokers, the U.S. Postal Service, jewelry stores, casinos, airlines, car dealerships, and any other business "whose cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters." By this definition, the FBI could potentially demand school transcripts, medical records, real estate records--or the financial records of virtually any organization involved in business that the government deems to be useful in an investigation--without the knowledge of the individual whose information is in those records.

Several representatives expressed concern that the financial provision was slipped into the act at the last minute with no time for public debate and against objections from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which sent a letter to the Intelligence Committee requesting that it be given more time to review the bill. More than 100 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted against the conference report, indicating that with more time, there may have been sufficient opposition to remove the provision. But last-minute efforts to modify the provision in conference committee failed, and Congress passed the act in November.

Part of PATRIOT Act Struck Down

Citing free speech, a federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion of the USA PATRIOT Act that bars giving "expert advice or assistance" to groups designated non-U.S. terrorist organizations. The ruling is the first by a federal judge to strike down any portion of the post-September 11 anti-terrorism statute as unconstitutional.

The PATRIOT Act, passed shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks, expanded the government's wiretap and other surveillance authority, removed barriers between FBI and CIA information-sharing, and provided more tools to finance terrorism investigations.

In a Los Angeles court, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins said the ban on providing expert advice or assistance is impermissibly vague and violates the First and Fifth Amendments. The case involved five humanitarian groups and two U.S. citizens seeking to provide support for lawful, nonviolent activities on behalf of Kurdish refugees in Turkey and Tamil residents of Sri Lanka. The Humanitarian Law Project, which brought the lawsuit, said the plaintiffs were threatened with 15 years in prison if they advised groups on seeking a peaceful resolution to the Kurds' campaign for self-determination in Turkey. The lawsuit argued that this portion of the anti-terrorism act was so poorly defined that it could be used against those writing political materials and organizing peace conferences.

The judge agreed in her ruling that the law, as written, does not differentiate between impermissible advice on violence and encouraging the use of peaceful, nonviolent means to achieve goals. While her ruling blocked the Justice Department from enforcing this provision of the PATRIOT Act against the plaintiffs, Judge Collins declined to grant a nationwide injunction against the Justice Department and sided with the government in rejecting some of the plaintiffs' arguments. The Justice Department said it may appeal the decision.

Congress Urged to Renew Parts of Act

In his State of the Union address, President Bush urged Congress to renew parts of the PATRIOT Act that are scheduled to expire in 2005, but it may be a tough sell. A growing number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are questioning whether the government's expanded powers in dozens of areas of law enforcement have infringed on civil liberties. To date, more than 240 communities nationwide have raised formal objections to the act.

The Bush administration recently warned that proposed legislation to scale back the law would undermine national security and would be vetoed by the president if approved. In a letter to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General John Ashcroft contended that a bipartisan proposal to undo parts of the PATRIOT Act "would make it even more difficult to mount an effective anti-terror campaign than it was before the PATRIOT Act was passed."

The proposed legislation, the Security and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Richard J. Durbin (D Ill.) and Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho), has not yet had a hearing in either the House or Senate. The bill would modify so-called "sneak-and-peek" search warrants that allow for indefinitely delayed notification when a person's property is searched, mandating such notice within a week's time. In addition, warrants for roving wiretaps used to monitor a suspect's multiple cell phones would have to ensure the target was positively identified and was present at the site being monitored before information could be collected.

The legislation also would reinstate standards in place prior to passage of the PATRIOT Act regarding library and business records by forcing the FBI to show it had reason to believe the person involved was a suspected terrorist or spy. The measure would impose expiration dates on nationwide search warrants and other PATRIOT Act terms, providing for congressional review.