Center for Public Integrity - Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 (12 MB PDF)
Center for Public Integrity - Justice Dept. Drafts Sweeping Expansion of Anti-Terrorism Act.
Center Publishes Secret Draft of 'Patriot II' Legislation
(WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2003) -- The Bush Administration is preparing a bold, comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act passed in the wake of September 11, 2001, which will give the government broad, sweeping new powers to increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and law enforcement prerogatives, and simultaneously decrease judicial review and public access to information.
The Center for Public Integrity has obtained a draft, dated January 9, 2003, of this previously undisclosed legislation and is making it available in full text (12 MB PDF)). The bill, drafted by the staff of Attorney General John Ashcroft and entitled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, has not been officially released by the Department of Justice, although rumors of its development have circulated around the Capitol for the last few months under the name of "the Patriot Act II" in legislative parlance.
"We haven't heard anything from the Justice Department on updating the Patriot Act," House Judiciary Committee spokesman Jeff Lungren told the Center. "They haven't shared their thoughts on that. Obviously, we'd be interested, but we haven't heard anything at this point."
Senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee minority staff have inquired about Patriot II for months and have been told as recently as this week that there is no such legislation being planned.
Mark Corallo, deputy director of Justice's Office of Public Affairs, told the Center his office was unaware of the draft. "I have heard people talking about revising the Patriot Act, we are looking to work on things the way we would do with any law," he said. "We may work to make modifications to protect Americans," he added. When told that the Center had a copy of the draft legislation, he said, "This is all news to me. I have never heard of this."
After the Center posted this story, Barbara Comstock, director of public affairs for the Justice Dept., released a statement (PDF) saying that, "Department staff have not presented any final proposals to either the Attorney General or the White House. It would be premature to speculate on any future decisions, particularly ideas or proposals that are still being discussed at staff levels."
An Office of Legislative Affairs "control sheet" (PDF) that was obtained by the PBS program "Now With Bill Moyers" seems to indicate that a copy of the bill was sent to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Vice President Richard Cheney on Jan. 10, 2003. "Attached for your review and comment is a draft legislative proposal entitled the 'Domestice Security Enhancement Act of 2003,'" the memo, sent from "OLP" or Office of Legal Policy, says.
Comstock later told the Center that the draft "is an early discussion draft and it has not been sent to either the Vice President or the Speaker of the House."
Dr. David Cole, Georgetown University Law professor and author of Terrorism and the Constitution, reviewed the draft legislation at the request of the Center, and said that the legislation "raises a lot of serious concerns. It's troubling that they have gotten this far along and they've been telling people there is nothing in the works." This proposed law, he added, "would radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering authorities, reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize secret arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive 'suspicion,' create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship away from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups."
Some of the key provision of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 include:
Follow the link to the artcile for plenty of interesting pieces from the document.
[ ... ]
Cole found it disturbing that there have been no consultations with Congress on the draft legislation. "It raises a lot of serious concerns and is troubling as a generic matter that they have gotten this far along and tell people that there is nothing in the works. What that suggests is that they're waiting for a propitious time to introduce it, which might well be when a war is begun. At that time there would be less opportunity for discussion and they'll have a much stronger hand in saying that they need these right away."
Writing up a dream list, not telling anyone, and waiting for the right moment ... That sounds like how the got the original USA Patriot Act passed.
Slashdot | Your Rights Online - PATRIOT II Legislation Leaked.
Buck Mulligan writes "The Center for Public Integrity reports that it has obtained a copy of PATRIOT II -- a huge law enforcement power grab that is intended to build on the USA Patriot Act. It's called the 'Domestic Security Enhancement Act.' CPI says it would increase domestic intelligence gathering and surveillance while reducing judicial review and public access to information. For more on the first PATRIOT Act, see the EPIC page."
Princeton University: WebMedia - Lawrence Lessig - The Creative Commons.
Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 8:00 pm, Helms Auditorium (McCosh 50)
Links will be activated 15 minutes before the start of the event
The Creative Commons: Every society depends upon a space for independent, well-regulated social criticism. The public domain is crucial to supporting that space. In this lecture, Professor Lessig will map a threat to the public domain that is increasingly weakening this opportunity for social criticism. As an unintended consequence of the reach of copyright law, the opportunity for social and political criticism has been weakened.
The broadcast will be in Windows Media Player and RealVideo.
Princeton University: WebMedia - Lectures.
Two more entries that might be of interest. Check out the main list for many other interesting lectures.
Princeton University: WebMedia - Special Events.
February 22 and 23, 2001 - Conference: A Constitution For The Ages: James Madison The Framer
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"Welcome and Introduction of Conference" |
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Gordon Wood, Brown University:
"Is There 'A James Madison Problem'?" |
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Jack Rakove, Stanford University:
"Reading Madison's Mind" |
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Jennifer Nedelsky, University of Toronto:
"James Madison and Constitutionalism" |
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John Stagg *73, University of Virginia:
"Was James Madison Really the Founding Father of the CIA?" |
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Pauline Maier, MIT:
"The States and the Nation: James Madison and American Federalism" |
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The Honorable Lloyd Axworthy *72, former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and conference presenters:
"Summation Panel" |
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