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December 2, 2008 8:46:44 AM CST

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Patriot Act

Patriot Act news stories

12 Stories

Al-Qaeda
Works Cheap,
Stays Hidden

Cells dodge dragnet by
avoiding traceable transactions

Washington Post Washington Post Aug 24, 08 10:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - International efforts to cut off terrorists from funding have failed because al-Qaeda cells operate cheaply and independently, avoiding official funding channels, experts say. While the US and its allies have focused on freezing bank accounts and monitoring financial transactions, operatives build $15 bombs, drum up hard-to-trace cash through illegal scams, and move money in person, reports the Washington Post . More »

More about:  al-Qaeda • September 11 • counterterrorism • Patriot Act • terrorism financing • London bombings

Chavez Takes Over Intelligence Agencies

Extends domestic spying and requires citizens to be informers

New York Times New York Times Jun 3, 08 10:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has ordered a draconian restructuring of Venezuela’s intelligence agencies, bringing them under his personal control, increasing domestic spying powers, and levying prison sentences on citizens who decline to cooperate, the New York Times reports. One justice on Venezuela’s top court expressed outrage, calling it “a step toward the creation of a society of informers.” More »

More about:  Venezuela • Hugo Chávez • intelligence • Patriot Act • government spying • domestic intelligence • informant

Taliban 'Narco Terrorist' Convicted
in US Court

Afghan plotted to use drug profits to fight US

Reuters Reuters May 16, 08 4:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Taliban militant has become the first person convicted under a "narco-terrorism" provision of the Patriot Act, Reuters reports. The Afghan man was busted by DEA agents for plotting to ship heroin to the US and use the proceeds to buy weapons to use against American and coalition forces. He was brought to the US last year to stand trial, and now faces 20 years to life in prison. More »

More about:  terrorism • Taliban • drugs • drug trafficking • heroin • opium • Patriot Act • terrorism financing

Facing Suit,
FBI Drops
Secret Order

Feds sought user's activity records from Internet archive

Washington Post Washington Post May 8, 08 8:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Facing a lawsuit, the FBI has withdrawn a secret order demanding that an Internet library turn over a user's records—only the third time the bureau has backed down from such a demand, known as a "national security letter." The San Francisco-based Internet Archive, which stores old versions of websites, challenged the order on the grounds that the Patriot Act provision that protects libraries from similar requests should apply online as well. More »

More about:  FBI • online privacy • Patriot Act • national security letters

Padilla Sentenced to 17 Years

Federal prosecutors will appeal for more prison time

Miami Herald Miami Herald Jan 22, 08 12:45 PM CST
(Newser) - A federal judge sentenced Jose Padilla to 17 years and 4 months today following his conviction for conspiring to commit murder and otherwise aid Islamic terrorists around the world, the Miami Herald reports. Although the court invoked “terrorism enhancement” to lengthen the sentences of Padilla and his two co-conspirators, prosecutors, who had sought life for Padilla, said they would appeal. More »

More about:  terrorism • Islamic Jihad • Patriot Act • Jose Padilla

Fed Judge
Rules Against Patriot Act

Nixes two key provisions that allow secret search without probable cause

Associated Press Associated Press Sep 27, 07 6:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - Key provisions of the Patriot Act allowing secret searches have been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. In the case of Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield, whose home and office were secretly raided after he was mistakenly linked to bombings in Madrid, a US District judge found that search warrants were issued without probable cause, violating the Fourth Amendment prohibiting unreasonable search and seizure. More »

More about:  Department of Justice • Patriot Act • constitutional law • Fourth Amendment

Russia and China Spying at Cold War Levels, Top Spy Warns

Patriot Act not enough, he tells lawmakers

Guardian (UK) Guardian (UK) Sep 18, 07 9:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - China and Russia are spying on the US at nearly cold war levels, the nation's top spy told lawmakers today. Vice Admiral McConnell defended the Patriot Act as necessary for US defense and asked Congress to give intelligence agencies even greater eavesdropping powers. His  testimony comes weeks after an alleged strike by Chinese hackers on the Pentagon. More »

More about:  China • Russia • Congress • Pentagon • hackers • Cold War • spying • Patriot Act • eavesdropping

The Right’s Beef With Mukasey? The Left Doesn’t Hate Him

Slate says GOP is perversely partisan

Slate Slate Sep 18, 07 7:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - The GOP is uneasy with Bush’s choice for attorney general, but only because liberals don't despise him, says Slate ’s Dahlia Lithwick. Unlike Roberts and Alito, Michael Mukasey doesn’t know “all 17 twists in the Federalist Society's secret handshake”—leaving open the chance that he might be (gasp!) an independent thinker. Yet Mukasey is no "renegade outside-the-Beltway badass" either. More »

Judge: Parts of Patriot Act Unconstitutional

Revised legislation violates separation of powers, 1st Amendment

Associated Press Associated Press Sep 6, 07 4:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Patriot Act violates the Constitution by allowing unreasonable searches and seizures, violating separation of powers, and denying free speech, a federal judge ruled today in striking down parts of the revised legislation. Judge Victor Marrero said investigators must obtain court approval before ordering ISPs and phone companies to turn over confidential information without notifying customers, the AP reports. More »

More about:  Congress • FBI • privacy • ACLU • Patriot Act • constitutional law • civil liberties • US Constitution • search and seizure

Padilla Guilty of Aiding Terrorism

Dirty-bomb suspect faces life after 3-year detention

Associated Press Associated Press Aug 16, 07 1:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - A US District Court convicted Jose Padilla, a US citizen once suspected in a dirty-bomb plot, of conspiring to commit terrorism abroad by providing aid to Islamic extremists. Padilla, a former Guantanamo detainee who became symbolic of the Bush administration's aggressive legal arguments for detaining suspected terrorists, was not charged with the sensational nuclear plot. More »

More about:  al-Qaeda • terrorism • Guantanamo Bay • terrorist • trial • conviction • conspiracy • Islamic extremism • Patriot Act • Jose Padilla • dirty bomb

Gonzales Alerted to
FBI Misdeeds

AG told of violations before testimony that no abuses occurred

Washington Post Washington Post Jul 10, 07 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FBI alerted Alberto Gonzales that agents had violated privacy regulations at least six times in the weeks before he told a Senate committee that no abuses had occurred, the Washington Post reports. The 2005 and 2006 internal reports detailed numerous problems with FBI activities under the Patriot Act, but DoJ says it doesn't know whether the AG read them. More »

White House
Hid Rove's Role
in US Attorney
Hiring

Leaked emails show cover-up of meddling

National Journal National Journal May 11, 07 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Karl Rove finagled a U.S. attorney post for his protégé Timothy Griffin, and the White House concealed his role in the appointment, the National Journal concludes from previously unrelease e-mails leaked to them. Griffin replaced fired attorney Bud Cummins; a Justice Department letter (later retracted) assured Congress Rove played no role in the transaction. More »

More about:  Bush administration • White House • Department of Justice • scandals • Karl Rove • US attorney • Patriot Act

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