USA Patriot Act and other Security Issues
Terrorism is testing our nation’s collective resolve to maintain the freedom, openness and diversity that defines and enriches our society. CDT believes that surrendering freedom will not purchase security, that democratic values are strengths not weaknesses, and that open communications networks are a positive force in the fight against violence and intolerance.
PATRIOT Re-Authorization
- CRS, “USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005: A Legal Analysis,” [pdf] March 24, 2006
- President Signs PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Bill Lacking Civil Liberties Protections, CDT Policy Post 12.6, March 17, 2006
- Patriot Debates Program, May 25, 2005. Video and Audio feeds available at http://www.westlegaled.com. To access the program, click on the “search” tab and then do a title search for “patriot debates.” You must add the program to the shopping cart and “purchase” it for free. Registration, Windows OS, Internet Explorer, and current version of Windows Media Player required. Pop-up blocker must be disabled.
- 2005 PATRIOT Debates – Sunsets and Checks & Balances
- 2004 FISA annual report to Congress [PDF] April 01, 2005 [off-site]
- CDT Testimony on PATRIOT Act, Privacy and Technology [pdf], April 21, 2005
- Audio of April 21 CDT Testimony [mp3], April 21, 2005
- Audio of full hearing [mp3], April 21, 2005
- CDT Testimony on PATRIOT Act [pdf], April 19, 2005
- Committee webpage with statements of other witnesses, April 19, 2005
- Letter urging urging Congress to take a broader look at civil liberties violations, April 18, 2005
- Audio of April 19 CDT Testimony [mp3], April 19, 2005
PATRIOT II
- DOJ responses to House Judiciary Committee [pdf], November 24, 2004
- House Judiciary Democrats Terrorism Oversight page
- Coalition Letter Objecting to Patriot Act Expansion Bill (HR 3179) [pdf], June 15, 2004
- CDT Letter to House and Senate Intelligence Committees Explaining Concerns With Expansion of National Security Letter Authority in Intelligence Authorization Bill [pdf], November 7, 2003
- Rutherford Institute, Taking Liberties in the War on Terror: The Justice Department’s “Patriot Act II”
- CDT Analysis — Administrative Subpoenas for the FBI: A Grab for Unchecked Executive Power
- ACLU, “How Patriot Act 2 Would Further Erode the Basic Checks on Government Power That Keep America Safe and Free,” [pdf] March 20, 2003
- Letter to Speaker of the House from civil rights/civil liberties coalition, March 2003
- Letter from civil rights/civil liberties coalition [pdf], March 17, 2003
- Analysis of PATRIOT II by ACLU, Feb. 14, 2003
- OMB Watch analysis of Patriot II’s impact on the public’s right to know [pdf], Feb. 13, 2003
- Analysis of PATRIOT II by Prof. David Cole [pdf], February 10, 2003
- Text of the PATRIOT II Act: [html] [pdf – 13MB]
USA PATRIOT Act
- Final Version of the USA-PATRIOT Act [pdf] Oct. 26, 2001
Redlines
prepared by the Electronic Commerce & Privacy Practice Group of the Washington, DC law firm of Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe LLP, and others showing how existing law was modified by the USA PATRIOT Act- Changes to the posse comitatus law and to IEEPA, made by Title I of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Changes to the electronic surveillance laws (ECPA, FISA, and the Communications Act) and the federal anti-hacking statute (the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act), made by Title II and sections 814 and 815 of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Changes to the Bank Secrecy Act made by Title III, Subtitle B of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Changes to the forfeiture, counterfeiting, and other currency crimes statutes, made by Title III, Subtitle C of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Changes to the immigration laws made by Title IV of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Changes to the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 USC 2709, educational records privacy laws, the DNA Identification Act, and FISA, made by Title V of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Change to the statute concerning the RISS program, made by Title VII of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Changes to the criminal code, made by Title VIII of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Changes to miscellaneous statutes, including FISA, made by Title X of the USA PATRIOT Act [pdf]
- Department of Justice’s Section-by-Section Summary of the USA PATRIOT ACT (one phrase or sentence on each section)
- Legislative Proposals to Fix the PATRIOT Act
- Court Challenges to the USA PATRIOT Act
Analyses of USA PATRIOT Act
- CDT Summaries of Key Provisions of USA PATRIOT Act
- CDT Policy Post 7.11, Oct. 26, 2001
- CDT’s Summary of the New House Bill, Oct. 12, 2001
- CDT’s Summary of Civil Liberties Concerns, [pdf] Oct. 8, 2001
- Responses to DOJ Defense of PATRIOT Act
- Analysis of USA PATRIOT Act by CDT and others
- Analyses of USA PATRIOT Act as enacted
- Analyses of Earlier Drafts of USA PATRIOT Act
- Statements and Articles [mostly before enactment of USA PATRIOT Act on Oct. 26, 2001]
Leading up to the Enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act: In Congress
Post-USA PATRIOT Act Congressional Oversight
- 2004 FISA annual report to Congress [PDF] April 01, 2005 [off-site]
- Joint Inquiry on September 11
- Oversight Hearings and Questions
Department of Homeland Security
Justice Department Guidelines and Other Materials
- Attorney General Guidelines on FBI Investigations
- DOJ Information Sharing Guidelines
- Monitoring Attorney-Client Communications
- Other DOJ Materials
Other Anti-Terrorism Measures
- General Overviews
- Datamining and Information Sharing
- Materials on Datamining
- Total Information Awareness
- CAPPS II (Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System II)
- Information Sharing
- Sneak and Peek Searches
- FISA and NSA Surveillance
- Watch Lists
- Domestic Intelligence Agency and TTIC
- Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS)
- FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)
- Secrecy
- Activity in the States
- Other Issues