Senate approves USA Act, sends to Bush, Ashcroft vows "new era"
Declan McCullagh
declan at well.com
Thu Oct 25 11:31:42 PDT 2001
>Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 14:30:04 -0400
>To: politech at politechbot.com
>From: Declan McCullagh <declan at well.com>
>Subject: Senate approves USA Act, sends to Bush, Ashcroft vows "new era"
>
>The Senate just approved the USA Act by a 98-1 vote. Sen. Feingold was the
>lone dissenter. Since the House has already voted for the bill, now it
>goes to President Bush for his signature. Attorney General Ashcroft has
>said that Bush will sign it tomorrow.
>
>Ashcroft said today, according to a speech attached below:
>>The hour that it becomes law, I will issue guidance to each of our 94
>>U.S. Attorney's Offices and 56 FBI field offices directing them to begin
>>immediately implementing this sweeping legislation. I will issue
>>directives requiring law enforcement to make use of new powers in
>>intelligence gathering, criminal procedure and immigration violations. A
>>new era in America's fight against terrorism, made tragically necessary
>>by the attacks of September 11, is about to begin.
>
>Text of USA Act v3.0 (final):
>http://www.politechbot.com/docs/usa.act.final.102401.html
>House debate over USA Act:
>http://www.politechbot.com/docs/usa.act.debate.102401.html
>How your House member voted:
>http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2001&rollnumber=398
>Feingold's lonely privacy fight:
>http://www.politechbot.com/p-02645.html
>Background:
>http://www.politechbot.com/p-02707.html
>http://www.wartimeliberty.com/search.pl?topic=legislation
>President Bush's statement that he looks forward to signing the bill:
>http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011024-4.html
>
>-Declan
>
>*********
>
>Attorney General John Ashcroft
>Prepared Remarks for the US Mayors Conference
>October 25, 2001
>
> For more than two hundred years, Attorneys General have called on
> the men and women of justice to be faithful stewards of the law. Rarely
> in history has an Attorney General asked America's prosecutors and law
> enforcement officers to do what they are asked to do today: to be both
> defenders of justice and defenders of the people; to devote their talents
> and energies to the urgent task of saving lives ahead of losing cases.
>
> On September 11, the wheel of history turned and the world will
> never be the same. A turning point was reached, as well, in the
> administration of justice. The fight against terrorism is now the first
> and overriding priority of the Department of Justice. But our war
> against terrorism is not merely or primarily a criminal justice endeavor
> __ our battle is the defense of our nation and its citizens.
>
> The men and women of justice and law enforcement are called on to
> combat a terrorist threat that is both immediate and vast; a threat that
> resides here, at home, but whose supporters, patrons and sympathizers
> form a multinational network of evil.
>
> The attacks of September 11 were acts of terrorism against
> America orchestrated and carried out by individuals living within our
> borders. Today's terrorists enjoy the benefits of our free society even
> as they commit themselves to our destruction. They live in our
> communities __ plotting, planning and waiting to kill Americans
> again. They have crossed the Rubicon of terror with the use of
> biological agents. We cannot explicitly link the recent terrorist
> attacks to the September 11 hijackers. Yet, terrorists - people who were
> either involved with, associated with or are seeking to take advantage of
> the September 11 attacks - are now poisoning our communities with Anthrax.
>
> Forty years ago, another Attorney General was confronted with a
> different enemy within our borders. Robert F. Kennedy came to the
> Department of Justice at a time when organized crime was threatening the
> very foundations of the republic. Mobsters controlled one of the nation's
> largest labor unions. Racketeers murdered, bribed and extorted with
> impunity in many of the nation's largest cities.
>
> Then, as now, the enemy that America faced was described bluntly
> - and correctly - as a conspiracy of evil. Then, as now, the enemy was
> well_financed, expertly organized and international in scope. Then, as
> now, its operations were hidden under a code of deadly silence.
>
> As Attorney General, Robert Kennedy launched an extraordinary
> campaign against organized crime. Under his leadership, the mission and
> momentum of the Department of Justice were directed toward one
> overarching goal: to identify, disrupt and dismantle the organized_crime
> enemy within. A new spirit of cooperation was forged, both among federal
> agencies and between state and federal law enforcement. Prosecutors
> were action oriented - pursuing cases rather than waiting for the cases
> to come to them. Investigators focused on function, not form - they
> focused on doing what was necessary to get the job done rather than what
> was dictated by the organizational chart.
>
> Attorney General Kennedy made no apologies for using all of the
> available resources in the law to disrupt and dismantle organized crime
> networks. Very often, prosecutors were aggressive, using obscure
> statutes to arrest and detain suspected mobsters. One racketeer and his
> father were indicted for lying on a federal home loan application. A
> former gunman for the Capone mob was brought to court on a violation of
> the Migratory Bird Act. Agents found 563 game birds in his freezer __ a
> mere 539 birds over the limit.
>
> There are obvious differences, of course, between the network of
> organized crime America faced in 1961 and the network of terror we face
> today. Today, many more innocent lives have been lost. Many more
> innocent lives continue to be threatened. But these differences serve
> only to call us more urgently to action.
>
> The American people face a serious, immediate and ongoing threat
> from terrorism. At this moment, American service men and women are
> risking their lives to battle the enemy overseas. It falls to the men
> and women of justice and law enforcement to engage terrorism at
> home. History's judgment will be harsh - and the people's judgment will
> be sure - if we fail to use every available resource to prevent future
> terrorist attacks.
>
> Robert Kennedy's Justice Department, it is said, would arrest
> mobsters for "spitting on the sidewalk" if it would help in the battle
> against organized crime. It has been and will be the policy of this
> Department of Justice to use the same aggressive arrest and detention
> tactics in the war on terror.
>
> Let the terrorists among us be warned: If you overstay your visa
> - even by one day - we will arrest you. If you violate a local law, you
> will be put in jail and kept in custody as long as possible. We will use
> every available statute. We will seek every prosecutorial advantage. We
> will use all our weapons within the law and under the Constitution to
> protect life and enhance security for America.
>
> In the war on terror, this Department of Justice will arrest and
> detain any suspected terrorist who has violated the law. Our single
> objective is to prevent terrorist attacks by taking suspected terrorists
> off the street. If suspects are found not to have links to terrorism or
> not to have violated the law, they are released. But terrorists who are
> in violation of the law will be convicted, in some cases deported, and in
> all cases prevented from doing further harm to Americans.
>
> Within days of the September 11 attacks, we launched this
> anti_terrorism offensive to prevent new attacks on our homeland. To
> date, our anti_terrorism offensive has arrested or detained nearly 1,000
> individuals as part of the September 11 terrorism investigation. Those
> who violated the law remain in custody. Taking suspected terrorists in
> violation of the law off the streets and keeping them locked up is our
> clear strategy to prevent terrorism within our borders.
>
> Today, the Department of Justice is positioned to launch a new
> offensive against terrorism. Due to extraordinary bi_partisan and
> bi_cameral cooperation in the Congress, law enforcement will have new
> weapons in the war on terrorism. Yesterday, by an overwhelming margin,
> the House passed the Anti_terrorism Act of 2001. Hours from now, the
> Senate is poised to follow suit.
>
> The president is expected to sign this legislation on
> Friday. The hour that it becomes law, I will issue guidance to each of
> our 94 U.S. Attorney's Offices and 56 FBI field offices directing them to
> begin immediately implementing this sweeping legislation. I will issue
> directives requiring law enforcement to make use of new powers in
> intelligence gathering, criminal procedure and immigration violations. A
> new era in America's fight against terrorism, made tragically necessary
> by the attacks of September 11, is about to begin.
>
> The legislation embodies two over_arching principles:
>
> The first principle is airtight surveillance of terrorists.
>
> Upon the president's signature, I will direct investigators and
> prosecutors to begin immediately seeking court orders to intercept
> communications related to an expanded list of crimes under the
> legislation. Communications regarding terrorist offenses such as the use
> of biological or chemical agents, financing acts of terrorism or
> materially supporting terrorism will be subject to interception by law
> enforcement.
> Agents will be directed to take advantage of new, technologically
> neutral standards for intelligence gathering. So_called "roving"
> wiretaps, that allow taps of multiple phones a suspect may use, are being
> added as important as an important weapon in our war against terror.
>
> Investigators will be directed to pursue aggressively terrorists
> on the internet. New authority in the legislation permits the use of
> devices that capture senders and receivers addresses associated with
> communications on the internet.
>
> Law enforcement will begin immediately to seek search warrants to
> obtain unopened voice_mail stored on a computer __ just as they
> traditionally have used search warrants to obtain unopened email. They
> will also begin to use new subpoena power to obtain payment information
> such as credit card or bank account numbers of suspected terrorists on
> the internet.
>
> The second principle enshrined in the legislation is speed in
> tracking down and intercepting terrorists. As soon as possible, law
> enforcement will begin to employ new tools that ease administrative
> burdens and delays in apprehending terrorists.
>
> Investigators are now able to use a single court order to trace a
> communication even when it travels outside the judicial district in which
> the order was issued. The scope of search warrants for unopened e_mail
> and other evidence is now also nationwide.
>
>
> The new tools for law enforcement in the war against terrorism
> are the products of hundreds of hours of consultation and careful
> consideration by the administration, members of Congress, and state and
> local officials. They are careful, balanced, and long overdue
> improvements in our capacity to prevent terrorism.
>
> The federal government cannot fight this reign of terror
> alone. Every American must help us defend our nation against this
> enemy. Every state, every county, every municipality must join together
> to form a common defense against terrorism.
> The law enforcement campaign that will commence in earnest when
> the legislation is signed into law will be many years in duration. Some
> will ask whether a civilized nation - a nation of law and not of men -
> can use the law to defend itself from barbarians and remain
> civilized. Our answer, unequivocally, is "yes." Yes, we will defend
> civilization. And yes, we will preserve the rule of law because it makes
> us civilized.
>
> The men and women of justice and law enforcement have been asked
> to shoulder a great burden for the safety and security of the American
> people. We will, as we have in the past, never waiver in our faith and
> loyalty to the Constitution and never tire in our defense of the rights
> it enshrines.
>
> Years after he left the office of Attorney General, an observer
> of Robert Kennedy wrote that RFK brought these assets to his successful
> campaign against organized crime:
> *A constructive anger.
>*An intimate knowledge of his subject.
>*A talented team of prosecutors.
>*And, finally, a partner in the White House.
>
> Today, as we embark on this campaign against terrorism, we are
> blessed with a similar set of advantages. Our anger, too, is
> constructive. Our knowledge is growing. Our team is talented. And our
> leadership in the White House is unparalleled.
>
> George W. Bush has done more __ much more __ than declare war on
> terrorism. George W. Bush is fighting a war on terrorism. Under his
> leadership, we have pledged ourselves to victory.
>
> Terrorists live in the shadows, under the cover of darkness. We
> will shine the light of justice on them. Americans alive today and yet
> to be born and freedom_loving people everywhere will have new reason to
> hope because our enemies now have new reason to fear.
>
> Thank you.
>
>###
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