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NEWS ABOUT: Patriot Act

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WikiLeaks Releases Thousands of New Docs

Feds ask web host for info on Assange

(Newser) - WikiLeaks is releasing tens of thousands of previously unpublished American diplomatic cables, and encouraging the public to look for nuggets of information in them using a searchable database . The cables, part of a cache of 250,000 leaked State Department reports WikiLeaks says it has, had previously only been released... More »

Obama (and His Autopen) Sign Patriot Act Extension

Congress passed four-year extension just hours before deadline

(Newser) - With just hours to go before the Patriot Act expired at midnight, Congress passed a four-year extension last night—but with President Obama in France, how to get it signed? With something called an autopen machine, apparently. The machine holds a pen and signs the president’s real signature, and... More »

Senator Wyden: The Real Patriot Act Is Classified

And he wants the government to make it public information

(Newser) - If you think the Patriot Act is invasive, you don’t know the half of it, Ron Wyden says—and he can’t tell you. In an interview with Wired , the Democratic Oregon senator reveals that the government is operating on a much broader interpretation of the law than it... More »

Patriot Act Set for 4-Year Extension

Reid, McConnell agree to renew domestic surveillance measures

(Newser) - With the Patriot Act's three central provisions set to expire in a week, Congressional leaders John Boehner, Harry Reid, and Mitch McConnell struck a deal to extend the law for four more years, Politico reports. Both chambers must pass the plan before it becomes law. The sections set to... More »

Patriot Act Gets 3 More Months

House agrees to Senate timeline, sends bill to White House

(Newser) - The House today voted 279-143 to approve a 90-day extension of three controversial Patriot Act provisions, sending the measure to President Obama for a surefire signature. The House had earlier approved a year-long extension , but today opted to instead mirror a shorter timeline passed by the Senate, Wired reports. The... More »

House Passes Patriot Act Extensions

Move to extend surveillance powers passes 275-144

(Newser) - The House of Representatives has voted 275-144 to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act until the end of the year. The measures—which would keep in place surveillance powers including counterterrorism officials' ability to conduct roving wiretap surveillance of targets—were slammed as "intrusive" and "unconstitutional"... More »

House Rejects Extension of Patriot Act Provisions

Twenty-six Republicans buck party line

(AP) - The House today failed to extend the life of three surveillance tools that are key to the Patriot Act. Republicans brought up the bill under a special expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds majority, and they fell seven votes short. Twenty-six Republicans voted against the measure, along with 122 Democrats. Supporters... More »

Mukasey: Now's No Time to Weaken Patriot Act

Terror arrests show that national security needs trump privacy worries

(Newser) - The arrests last week of Najibullah Zazi and other terror suspects should make lawmakers think twice about making intelligence-gathering more difficult for those trying to keep America safe from terrorist attacks, writes Michael Mukasey. Congressional Democrats are considering imposing new requirements on Patriot Act provisions when they come up for... More »

Obama Supports Extending Patriot Act Provisions

Administration tells Congress it wants to renew surveillance laws

(AP) - The Obama administration supports extending three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year,  AP reports. The Justice Department tells Congress in a letter they will back preserving the post-9/11 law's authority to access business records, monitor so-called "lone... More »

US Brands Refugees 'Terrorists', Denies Asylum

All armed groups considered "terrorists"

(Newser) - Refugees hoping to stay in America are SOL if they backed armed movements back home—even if they fought dictators or have since worked for the United States, McClatchy reports. Following a Patriot Act provision, officials have denied more than 7,000 requests for green cards, refugee status, and asylum... More »

Patriot Act Treats Unruly Passengers as Terrorists

In-flight ruckus can draw felony conviction

(Newser) - What sounds like a fair punishment for spanking your children on a plane and having an argument with a flight attendant? How about a felony conviction, 3 months in prison, and the loss of custody of your children? As unreal as it sounds, that’s exactly what happened to one... More »

Al-Qaeda Works Cheap, Stays Hidden

Cells dodge dragnet by avoiding traceable transactions

(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,... More »

Chavez Takes Over Intelligence Agencies

Extends domestic spying and requires citizens to be informers

(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... More »

Taliban 'Narco Terrorist' Convicted in US Court

Afghan plotted to use drug profits to fight US

(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.... More »

Facing Suit, FBI Drops Secret Order

Feds sought user's activity records from Internet archive

(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... More »

Padilla Sentenced to 17 Years

Federal prosecutors will appeal for more prison time

(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,... More »

Fed Judge Rules Against Patriot Act

Nixes two key provisions that allow secret search without probable cause

(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... More »

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

Patriot Act not enough, he tells lawmakers

(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... More »

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

Slate says GOP is perversely partisan

(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... More »

Judge: Parts of Patriot Act Unconstitutional

Revised legislation violates separation of powers, 1st Amendment

(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... More »

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