Patriot Act seen hurt by secrecy

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Excessive secrecy is hurting the Bush administration’s effort to win renewal of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act, lawmakers told top law-enforcement and intelligence officials yesterday.

The administration wants Congress to make permanent all 15 provisions of the law that expire at the end of the year, some of which have aroused civil liberties concerns among liberals and conservatives.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said there has been no substantiated accusation of abuse of the law since its enactment in 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks. CIA Director Porter J. Goss and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III made similar statements at the hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

But Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, Maine Republican, said fears persist about U.S. authorities spying on Americans and peeking at library records because the administration has released scant details about the use of the law.

“We need to have a more public disclosure to enhance the public’s confidence in the way in which this additional and broader authority is being used,” Mrs. Snowe said at the hearing.

The administration also has not submitted a report about its use last year of a provision of the law expanding the FBI’s power to compel Internet access firms and other businesses to provide information about their customers or subscribers, senators said.

“We’re to some extent doing oversight in the dark,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat. “I operate under the Ronald Reagan theory: trust but verify. What I do know is we haven’t gotten the report that is supposed to be filed.”

There was no response from Mr. Gonzales or Mr. Mueller.

The criticism was echoed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which said the administration has been unwilling to share information even with lawmakers who have clearance to review sensitive information. The ACLU is part of a broad coalition that backs changes to the law.

Mr. Mueller tried to quell some complaints by describing how other Patriot Act provisions were responsible for this week’s conviction of an Islamic scholar in Virginia and arrests last year in England of three men who reportedly were gathering information on the New York Stock Exchange and other U.S. financial institutions in preparation for an attack.

The administration faced some criticism from Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican and committee chairman, who said the FBI has not been aggressive enough in using its new powers, particularly the so-called libraries provision authorizing federal officials to obtain “tangible items” such as business records for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations.

The provision has been used 35 times since September 2003, but never for library, bookstore, medical or gun sale records, Mr. Gonzales has said.

All three officials said the administration’s effort to strike a balance between civil liberties and national security has been successful, demonstrating that Congress should renew the law without an expiration date.