The Fast Track to Tyranny: The USA Patriot Act of 2001
Posted by Brian McLain on 09.12.2007
This week Brian McLain begins his latest series titled The Fast Track to Tyranny. In this latest series, Brian looks at a series of legislation, executive orders, and presidential directives which are stripping away the civil rights of American citizens. He kicks off the series this week by examining the USA Patriot Act of 2001.
Welcome, everyone, to yet another presumably award winning series by everyone's favorite angry Scotsman, Brian McLain. In the last series, I took an intricate look at the stunning similarities between the behaviors and tendencies of fascist governments and our own and I will say that even I was shocked in my research how far down we had fallen. In this next series, Fast Track to Tyranny, I will be analyzing some of the most concerning legislation, executive orders, and presidential directives that I have ever seen come out of Washington. Being the day after the September 11th anniversary, I feel it is appropriate to begin at the beginning with the first atrocity that many have come to love to hate, and became my first true government adversary, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.
September 11, 2001: Three coordinated terrorist attacks bring down the World Trade Centers 1, 2, and consequentially 7, destroy a section of the Pentagon, as a forth plane fails to reach its speculated destination and crashes in an empty field in Pennsylvania. October 23, 2001 Assistant Attorney General Veit D. Dihn and future Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff introduce a draft of the USA Patriot Act which saw no committee time, almost no debate time, and an almost unanimous approval from both House and Senate within 24 hours of its introduction. The title of the act, in full, is "The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001".
The seeming speed that this rather lengthy bill was crafted was absolutely astounding to many. However, because the primary shock of nearly 3000 dead and two major United States landmarks and the serious damaging of another still had not worn off, there were few that questioned the motives behind, method of passage, intent, or origins. It was simply the United States government, acting remarkably swift in order to protect the Citizens from further terror in the minds of most Americans. As it turned out, what we saw was far from what we got.
The speed from which this act descended from the executive branch brings into question the origins of the PATRIOT Act (from hereon Patriot Act) and whether this particular concept of reinventing of the police force throughout the country took place prior to the 9-11 attacks. After some investigation, I found that the bill itself seems to build upon a foundation laid by the Clinton Administration and the congress along side the administration in the form of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (from hereon the Anti-Terrorism Act).
This particular legislation was in response to the 1995 bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City by the sole man convicted of the crime, Timothy McVey. Key elements of the Patriot Act actually strengthened existing legislation of the Anti-Terrorism Act which established the criminality of "material support" or "expert advice or assistance" to terrorist organization, the power to designate such terrorist organizations by only a few member of the executive branch, removing legislative oversight from such decisions, and allowing the use of secret evidence in terrorism cases.
While further investigation has yielded some suggestions that certain individuals in the Clinton administration had actually submitted strikingly similar to the streamlining of intelligence and criminal investigation of the Patriot Act through suggestions to the Partnership for Reinventing Government, I have found no concrete evidence of such. What is known, however, is that the controversial, key provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act were ruled unconstitutional and were very must in danger of being repealed that was until 9-11. Section 805 actually strengthens and then builds upon restrictions on "material support" or "expert advice and assistance".
Now to take a closer look at this historical legislation:
Section 802 is particularly the most concerning part of the this legislation because it deals with the new category of "domestic terrorism", which broadly redefines terrorist activity as acts that "involve acts dangerous to human life that are in violation of the criminal laws of the United States". The definition is further broadened as intent to "influence the policy of the government by intimidation or coercion". I don't know about you, but concerning the Resident's actions during the span of his term, protest organizations could very well rank up there with "intimidating", though the very real fear that is placed in all of us during each election time would also fall in the same category.
Section 202 gives expands federal jurisdiction over electronic communication. All of your emails, VoiPs, Instant Messages, Blogs are subject to the same investigation of any other form of communication.
Section 203 breaks down walls of investigation and information between criminal and intelligence agencies. While many in government will say that sharing was not allowed at all, they were so long as specific due process requirements were meant. This section allows for an overbroad injection of power, allowing for unlimited sharing so long as it suits national security.
Section 206 There is no specification of what phone line or computer a target may use. Roving wiretaps allow for the tapping of all communication equipment that may be used by the target, so long as it is in the interest of national security.
Section 213 weakens warrant requirements to ‘sneak and peak' a target's records.
Section 215 gives far reaching record search authority to the federal government, so long as they say that it is for matters of foreign intelligent investigations, to look through all forms of information including business, financial, library, rental, church, phone records, among many others, without your consent or knowledge. Secret searches can now be approved by a secret court for the very same reason. This section also removes warrant requirements for the use of specific tools, such as Pen Registers, a device used to track incoming calls to the party in question.
Section 216 A clarification of said Pen Registers to include internet activity.
Section 411 Know a guy, talk to a guy, borrow a quarter from a guy (or gal…mustn't be sexist) who has terrorism ties? Congratulations! You're a terrorist too! If you are a non citizen you may be deported or detained!
Section 412 Also, if you are a non citizen, the Attorney General has every rule you as a detainable individual for a time without any prior judicial ruling that you might be dangerous.
Section 505 Authorization to issue an administrative subpoena without a need to for probable cause or judicial oversight, essentially the executive investigative officials have full power to obtain records on any individual.
The breaking down and broad generalizations are perhaps the most damaging parts of the bill. Regardless of whether or not wrongdoing is proven, one's records in any instance could be accessed at any time on a mere whim for any reason. The explicit removal of safeguards from frivolous investigation would further broaden with the passage of provisions in the Patriot Act II, which I will be analyzing next week, even while the Supreme Court slowly chips away at the original.
The primary problem with the Patriot Act legislation, while wholly unconstitutional, is its protection from judicial review and the application of questions involving ripeness or personal injury. Since it is difficult to prove that one has been injured by such legislation due to the classified nature of information gathered, there are very few opportunities that come about to strike down certain provisions, allowing time to pass even more legislation changing the language or further strengthening provisions to replace struck down legislation. This is the first of many questionable actions by the United States government, which literally turns the foreign intelligence agencies in upon the domestic population of the United States of America.
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