FC: More on DOJ clarifing how FBI agents "visit" libraries

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Previous Politech message:
"Justice Department clarifies how FBI agents 'visit' libraries"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-04808.html

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From: "Frederick Emrich, Editor, info-commons.org" <editor () info-commons org>
To: <declan () well com>
Subject: Justice Dept. press release on libraries and FBI investigations
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2003 12:26:22 -0400

Declan:

Here's a bit I posted at commons-blog
(http://www.info-commons.org/blog/archives/000036.html):

DOJ on Terror Investigations and Libraries

Declan McCullagh at Politech called our attention to a Dept. of Justice
press release in which the DOJ takes issue with a New York Times report that
FBI "agents have contacted about 50 libraries nationwide in the course of
terrorism investigations" (Eric Lichtblau, "Justice Dept. Lists Use of New
Power to Fight Terror," May 21, 2003; abstract requires registration,
full-text for a fee). The DOJ says the report, based on testimony by Asst.
Attorney General Viet Dinh, was in error and that Dinh was referring only to
criminal investigations.

According to the release, information on contact with libraries in national
security investigations is classified.

Thanks for clearing that up, DOJ. I feel much better now.

By the way, in the original Times article, Barbara Comstock, the DOJ's head
of public affairs (and the person under whose name the department press
release went out) was quoted saying that the numbers provided by DOJ on FBI
inquiries to libraries and other civil institutions (which the Times said
"appeared relatively low") showed the restraint of the government in
applying PATRIOT Act provisions. A quote from the story follows:

"'We've had so much erroneous hysteria out there about our counter-terrorism
authority and how it's used,' said (Justice Department spokeswoman) Barbara
Comstock. 'What this demonstrates is that these tools have been very
carefully targeted, and when we do use them, it's because there are valid
reasons that often involve life and death.'"

The Times pointed out:

"Librarians, concerned about the government's ability to pry into the
public's reading habits, have said they believe libraries have been
contacted much more frequently (than 50 times)."

Seems like the DOJ's latest release suggests that the numbers they *did*
make public have no necessary corollation with the actual numbers of
inquiries to libraries in national security investigations. In other words,
DOJ hasn't done anything to allay concerns about diminishing civil
liberties. Furthermore, the DOJ release from Comstock shows that her
original statement in the Times was, at best, disingenuous. And we wonder
why they're called "spin doctors."

The DOJ release is attached below:

See also: The Shifted Librarian entry, "Let Librarians be Librarians, Not
Snoops"







Frederick Emrich, Editor
info-commons.org (http://info-commons.org/index.shtml)
commons-blog (http://info-commons.org/blog/)
RSS Feed: http://www.info-commons.org/blog/index.rdf
email: editor () info-commons org




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