now, ashcroft gives us some shit to REALLY worry about ...
citizenq at hushmail.com
citizenq at hushmail.com
Mon Sep 17 16:10:09 PDT 2001
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers pushed aside other work Monday to
take up the administration's request for new wiretapping and other
counterterrorism laws, prompted by Attorney General John Ashcroft's
warning that terrorists could still be active in the United States.
``We've cleared our calendar,'' Senate Judiciary Committee
spokeswoman Mimi Devlin said.
House Judiciary Committee spokesman Jeff Lungren added, ``We
know what a priority this legislation is for the administration,
the Congress and the country, and we will act accordingly.''
One day after privately briefing congressional leaders, Ashcroft
publicly urged Congress to quickly expand the FBI's wiretapping
authority, to impose stronger penalties on those who harbor or
finance terrorists and to increase punishments on terrorists
themselves.
Ashcroft, a former senator, told lawmakers the FBI needs his
package passed this week, even though Congress is observing the
Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. ``I'm optimistic that we will be
able to act quickly to provide law enforcement with the additional
tools that are necessary to fight terrorism,'' Ashcroft said.
House and Senate leaders had yet to see the specifications of
Ashcroft's proposal Monday afternoon. The attorney general said it
would be ready in a ``day or two,'' which led to uncertainty over
whether committees will hold hearings or just send the package
directly to the House and Senate floors for votes.
... omitted ...
Part of Ashcroft's terrorism package includes a request to allow
the FBI to seek wiretapping orders for a suspect instead of a
telephone.
That would mean law enforcement agents would be able to tap any
phone a suspect uses, instead of having to ask for a new
wiretapping order whenever the suspect changes telephones. With the
introduction of cellular phones, it has become harder for law
officers to track conversations of suspects because of the ease of
getting new telephone numbers or new telephones, officials said.
``That's a key piece of legislation that would be helpful to
us,'' FBI Director Robert Mueller said Monday.
Ashcroft also wants wiretapping orders to extend over state
lines. That would allow investigators around the country to tap all
of a suspect's calls without getting a separate wiretapping warrant
in each jurisdiction. ``This is a reasonable upgrade,'' he said.
The attorney general also said he wants Congress to give him
expanded electronic surveillance and search authority as well as
the ability to identify, seize and forfeit terrorists' assets.
The package would make contributing to terrorism groups a crime
under money-laundering statutes, lift the statute of limitations on
prosecuting terrorists and increase penalties for harboring
terrorists.
After their private briefing by Ashcroft and Mueller on Sunday,
senators were positive about moving legislation forward quickly.
``I don't know how soon, but the sooner the better,'' said Sen.
Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the top Republican on the Senate
Intelligence Committee. ``All of us want to see the details of any
legislative plan if there's going to be a legislative response, but
Congress, I believe, is in the mood to do whatever it takes to win
this war against terrorism.''
But some groups warned against moving too fast. The American
Civil Liberties Union, for one, says Congress should slow down and
hold hearings and deliberative debates on Ashcroft's proposed
legislation to ensure it doesn't infringe on civil liberties.
``If we allow our freedoms to be undermined, the terrorists will
have won,'' said Anthony Romero, the ACLU's executive director.
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