Senator warns of Patriot Act alarmists

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>
Date: November 8, 2005 7:59:43 PM EST
To: EPIC_IDOF () mailman epic org
Subject: [EPIC_IDOF] Senator warns of Patriot Act alarmists

http://news.com.com/Senator+warns+of+Patriot+Act+alarmists/ 
2100-1030_3-59405
74.html?tag=nefd.top

By Anne Broache
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: November 8, 2005, 4:30 PM PST
WASHINGTON--A Republican senator said a newly-created privacy and civil
liberties watchdog panel should focus on dispelling "disinformation"  
about
the controversial Patriot Act.

At a hearing Tuesday to consider presidential nominees to lead the  
group,
known as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, Sen. John  
Cornyn
of Texas called on the two candidates to offer "honest, responsible  
and fair
review" of the president's counterterrorism policies. He also  
cautioned them
to be on guard for "false reports or scare tactics."

"If anything, false claims about civil liberties violations actually  
make it
harder to monitor real civil liberties issues in the future--for the  
same
reason that eventually no one listened to the boy who cried 'wolf,'"  
Cornyn
told Carol Dinkins and Alan Raul.

Enacted soon after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Patriot Act
dramatically expanded the FBI's ability to conduct electronic  
eavesdropping
and to obtain business records from telecommunications firms. Some  
elements
of the law are being challenged in a New York appeals court, which is
deciding whether to regulate the FBI's use of so-called national  
security
letters to obtain information about Internet browsing, while other  
courts
have curbed using the Patriot Act to track the location of cell phones
without a warrant.

Elected to the Senate in 2002, Cornyn was not among the overwhelming
congressional majority that approved the Patriot Act shortly after  
the Sept.
11 attacks. But the former Texas attorney general has been a strong
proponent of the law and has urged his colleagues to reauthorize it,  
as some
portions are set to expire at the end of the year. In one statement,  
Cornyn
said that if law enforcement had had the "flexibility" afforded by the
Patriot Act before Sept. 11, "the probability of preventing the tragedy
would have been much higher."

Cornyn and Sen. Kay Hutchison, another Texas Republican, were the only
politicians present at the hearing, where they backed Dinkins and  
Raul, both
lawyers, to be chairperson and vice chairperson of the five-member  
board.
The candidate decision remains subject to the entire Senate's approval
before taking office. President Bush announced the nominees in June.

Congress created the governmental board last year through legislation  
based
on recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. The board's broad aim is to
ensure that the president and the executive branch don't expand their
terrorism-fighting powers to the extent that privacy and civil  
liberties are
unduly compromised. It is supposed to advise the president and the  
executive
branch, to review its policies, and to submit periodic reports to  
Congress.

Cornyn and the nominees acknowledged that it remains unclear  
precisely how
the board will do its work or where it will start.


"It will be quite a challenge," Dinkins said, adding that her first
priority, should she become chairperson, would be tending to practical
matters: employing an executive director and other staff and securing  
office
space.

Both nominees held positions in the Reagan administration: Dinkins  
was the
Justice Department's deputy attorney general, and Raul was an associate
counsel to the president. Both have said they will continue to  
practice law
with their respective firms--Dinkins in Texas and Raul in Washington,
D.C.--even if their nominations are approved.

While Dinkins' experience centers on environmental litigation, Raul has
recently dealt with technology-related cases. According to a  
questionnaire
he submitted to the Judiciary Committee, he helped draft a brief  
supporting
the movie industry's position in MGM v. Grokster, where the Supreme  
Court
ruled against peer-to-peer file sharing networks. He has also been  
involved
in a number of cases involving domain name "cybersquatting" and  
trademark
infringement.

CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh contributed to this report.
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