FBI Director Mueller talks up "importance" of Patriot Act [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress04/mueller052004.htm

Testimony of Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
May 20, 2004

...

PATRIOT ACT

Mr. Chairman, for over two and a half years, the PATRIOT Act has proved 
extraordinarily beneficial in the war on terrorism and has changed the 
way the FBI does business. Many of our counterterrorism successes, in 
fact, are the direct results of provisions included in the Act, a number 
of which are scheduled to "sunset" at the end of next year. I strongly 
believe it is vital to our national security to keep each of these 
provisions intact. Without them, the FBI could be forced back into 
pre-September 11 practices, attempting to fight the war on terrorism 
with one hand tied behind our backs.

Let me give you just a few examples that illustrate the importance of 
the PATRIOT Act to our counterterrorism efforts:

First and foremost, the PATRIOT Act – along with the revision of the 
Attorney General's investigative guidelines and the 2002 decision of the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review – tore down the wall 
that stood between the intelligence investigators responding to 
terrorist threats and the criminal investigators responding to those 
same threats.
 • Prior to September 11, an Agent investigating the intelligence side 
of a terrorism case was barred from discussing the case with an Agent 
across the hall who was working the criminal side of that same 
investigation. For instance, if a court-ordered criminal wiretap turned 
up intelligence information, the criminal investigator could not share 
that information with the intelligence investigator – he could not even 
suggest that the intelligence investigator should seek a wiretap to 
collect the information for himself. If the criminal investigator served 
a grand jury subpoena to a suspect's bank, he could not divulge any 
information found in those bank records to the intelligence 
investigator. Instead, the intelligence investigator would have to issue 
a National Security Letter in order to procure that same information.

• The removal of the "wall" has allowed government investigators to 
share information freely. Now, criminal investigative information that 
contains foreign intelligence or counterintelligence, including grand 
jury and wiretap information, can be shared with intelligence officials. 
This increased ability to share information has disrupted terrorist 
operations in their early stages -- such as the successful dismantling 
of the "Portland Seven" terror cell -- and has led to numerous arrests, 
prosecutions, and convictions in terrorism cases.

• In essence, prior to September 11th, criminal and intelligence 
investigators were attempting to put together a complex jigsaw puzzle at 
separate tables. The Patriot Act has fundamentally changed the way we do 
business. Today, those investigators sit at the same table and work 
together on one team. They share leads. They fuse information. Instead 
of conducting parallel investigations, they are fully integrated into 
one joint investigation.

• Because of the creation of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, 
and because the FBI has dramatically improved its information sharing 
with the CIA, the NSA, and a host of other federal, state, local and 
international partners, our resources are used more effectively, our 
investigations are conducted more efficiently, and America is 
immeasurably safer as a result. We cannot afford to go back to the days 
when Agents and prosecutors were afraid to share information.

Second, the PATRIOT Act gave federal judges the authority to issue 
search warrants that are valid outside the issuing judge's district in 
terrorism investigations. In the past, a court could only issue a search 
warrant for premises within the same judicial district – yet our 
investigations of terrorist networks often span multiple districts. The 
PATRIOT Act streamlined this process, making it possible for judges in 
districts where activities related to terrorism may have occurred to 
issue search warrants applicable outside their immediate districts.

In addition, the PATRIOT Act permits similar search warrants for 
electronic evidence such as email. In the past, for example, if an Agent 
in one district needed to obtain a search warrant for a subject's email 
account, but the Internet service provider (ISP) was located in another 
district, he or she would have to contact an AUSA and Agent in the 
second district, brief them on the details of the investigation, and ask 
them to appear before a judge to obtain a search warrant – simply 
because the ISP was physically based in another district. Thanks to the 
PATRIOT Act, this frustrating and time-consuming process can be averted 
without reducing judicial oversight. Today, a judge anywhere in the U.S. 
can issue a search warrant for a subject's email, no matter where the 
ISP is based.

Third, the PATRIOT Act updated the law to match current technology, so 
that we no longer have to fight a 21st-century battle with antiquated 
weapons. Terrorists exploit modern technology such as the Internet and 
cell phones to conduct and conceal their activities. The PATRIOT Act 
leveled the playing field, allowing investigators to adapt to modern 
techniques. For example, the PATRIOT Act clarified our ability to use 
court-ordered pen registers and trap-and-trace devices to track Internet 
communications. The Act also enabled us to seek court-approved roving 
wiretaps, which allow investigators to conduct electronic surveillance 
on a particular suspect, not a particular telephone – this allows them 
to continuously monitor subjects without having to return to the court 
repeatedly for additional authorizations. This technique has long been 
used to investigate crimes such as drug trafficking and racketeering. In 
a world in which it is standard operating procedure for terrorists to 
rapidly change locations and switch cell phones to evade surveillance, 
terrorism investigators must have access to the same tools.

In a final example, the PATRIOT Act expanded our ability to pursue those 
who provide material support or resources to terrorist organizations. 
Terrorist networks rely on individuals for fund-raising, procurement of 
weapons and explosives, training, logistics, and recruiting. The 
material support statutes allow investigators to aggressively pursue and 
dismantle the entire terrorist network, from the financiers to those who 
carry out terrorist plans. By criminalizing the actions of those who 
provide, channel, or direct resources to terrorists, the material 
support statutes provide an effective tool to intervene at the earliest 
possible stage of terrorist planning. This allows the FBI to arrest 
terrorists and their supporters before their deadly plans can be carried 
out.

For instance, the FBI investigated a case in Charlotte, North Carolina, 
in which a group of Lebanese nationals purchased mass quantities of 
cigarettes in North Carolina and shipped them to Michigan for resale. 
Their scheme was highly profitable due to the cigarette tax disparity 
between the two states. The proceeds of their smuggling were used to 
fund Hezbollah affiliates and operatives in Lebanon. Similarly, the FBI 
investigated a case in San Diego in which subjects allegedly negotiated 
with undercover law enforcement officials the sale of heroin and hashish 
in exchange for Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which they indicated 
were to be sold to Al Qaida. In both cases, the material support 
provisions allowed prosecutors to charge the subjects and secure guilty 
pleas and convictions.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, the importance of the PATRIOT 
Act as a valuable tool in the war against terrorism cannot be 
overstated. It is critical to our present and future success. By 
responsibly using the statutes provided by Congress, the FBI has made 
substantial progress in its ability to proactively investigate and 
prevent terrorism and protect innocent lives, while at the same time 
protecting civil liberties.



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