http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,61792,00.html
Bush Grabs New Power for FBI
By Kim Zetter | Also by this reporter Page 1 of 2 next »
02:00 AM Jan. 06, 2004 PT
While the nation was distracted last month by images of Saddam
Hussein's spider hole and dental exam, President George W. Bush
quietly signed into law a new bill that gives the FBI increased
surveillance powers and dramatically expands the reach of the USA
Patriot Act.
The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 grants the FBI
unprecedented power to obtain records from financial institutions
without requiring permission from a judge.
Under the law, the FBI does not need to seek a court order to access
such records, nor does it need to prove just cause.
Previously, under the Patriot Act, the FBI had to submit subpoena
requests to a federal judge. Intelligence agencies and the Treasury
Department, however, could obtain some financial data from banks,
credit unions and other financial institutions without a court order
or grand jury subpoena if they had the approval of a senior government
official.
The new law (see Section 374 of the act), however, lets the FBI
acquire these records through an administrative procedure whereby an
FBI field agent simply drafts a so-called national security letter
stating the information is relevant to a national security
investigation.
And the law broadens the definition of "financial institution" to
include such businesses as insurance companies, travel agencies, real
estate agents, stockbrokers, the U.S. Postal Service and even jewelry
stores, casinos and car dealerships.
The law also prohibits subpoenaed businesses from revealing to anyone,
including customers who may be under investigation, that the
government has requested records of their transactions.
Bush signed the bill on Dec. 13, a Saturday, which was the same day
the U.S. military captured Saddam Hussein.
Some columnists and bloggers have accused the president of signing the
legislation on a weekend, when news organizations traditionally
operate with a reduced staff, to avoid public scrutiny and criticism.
Any attention that might have been given the bill, they say, was
supplanted by a White House announcement the next day about Hussein's
capture.
James Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy &
Technology, didn't see any significance to the timing of Bush's
signing. The 2004 fiscal year began Oct. 1 and the Senate passed the
bill in November. He said there was pressure to pass the legislation
to free up intelligence spending.
However, Dempsey called the inclusion of the financial provision "an
intentional end-run" by the administration to expand the
administration's power without proper review.
Critics like Dempsey say the government is trying to pass legislation
that was shot down prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the Bush
administration drafted a bill to expand the powers of the Patriot Act.
The so-called Patriot Act II was discovered by the Center for Public
Integrity last year, which exposed the draft legislation and initiated
a public outcry that forced the government to back down on its plans.
But critics say the government didn't abandon its goals after the
uproar; it simply extracted the most controversial provisions from
Patriot Act II and slipped them surreptitiously into other bills, such
as the Intelligence Authorization Act, to avoid raising alarm.
Dempsey said the Intelligence Authorization Act is a favorite vehicle
of politicians for expanding government powers without careful
scrutiny. The bill, because of its sensitive nature, is generally
drafted in relative secrecy and approved without extensive debate
because it is viewed as a "must-pass" piece of legislation. The act
provides funding for intelligence agencies.
"It's hard for the average member to vote against it," said Dempsey,
"so it makes the perfect vehicle for getting what you want without too
much fuss."
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