This message archived at: http://www.politechbot.com/2004/07/06/ashcroft-privacy-villain/ -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [NCCP] Privacy Villain: John Ashcroft et al. Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2004 16:04:29 -0400 From: J Plummer <jplummer@private> To: info@private Privacy Villain of the Week: John Ashcroft Not satisfied with the radical increases in subpoena power <http://www.nccprivacy.org/handv/031121villain.htm> already granted in the past few years, Attorney General John Ashcroft in a speech this week called for even more powers to seize consumer records from businesses without bothering with the pesky judicial process. <http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/9040866.htm?1c> Ashcroft's remarks followed on the heels of a Senate subcommittee hearing on a bill that would grant the Attorney General the ability to issue subpoenas in so-called 'terror' investigations instead of going through a grand jury (which would presumably subpoena a ham sandwich as soon as indict one, anyway). <http://archive.aclu.org/congress/l102301d.html> As one former assistant attorney general explained during the hearing, "To my knowledge, Congress has never authorized the creation of a potentially secret Executive branch police proceeding of the type contemplated by these proposals... absent judicial process such as a search warrant, a grand jury subpoena or a trial subpoena, American citizens have always had the right to decline to answer questions put to them by the police or to deliver their documents without a search warrant. [Under] the administrative subpoenas for terrorism cases contemplated by the proposals under review in today's hearing... No showing of reasonable suspicion, or probable cause or imminent need or exigent circumstances would be required to authorize such subpoenas." James Robinson went on to explain that the proposal even holds an unprecedented "potential that administrative subpoenas could be issued by federal agents without the approval of federal prosecutors." <http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=1235&wit_id=3617> At that same hearing, Sen. Patrick Leahy pointed out, "the FBI already has far-reaching compulsory powers to obtain documents and witness testimony when it is investigating terrorism, under both its criminal and intelligence authority by way of search warrants, grand jury subpoenas, secret court orders and National Security Letters (or NSLs). More traditional investigative techniques are also available, including mail covers, trash runs, ex parte orders, and writs, just to name a few. " <http://judiciary.senate.gov/member_statement.cfm?id=1235&wit_id=2629> Ashcroft's police-state plan gives consumers less reason to trust businesses with personal information on their purchasing preferences. This undermining of the customer-business relationship can leave businesses less able to serve their customers by learning about their tastes and choices. This attempt to gum up the smooth flow of information in the private marketplace earns Ashcroft and his Congressional sponsors this week's Privacy Villain award. The Privacy Villain of the Week and Privacy Hero of the Month are projects of the National Consumer Coalition's Privacy Group. For more information on the NCC Privacy Group, see www.nccprivacy.org or contact James Plummer at 202-467-5809 or jplummer@private . This essay available with hyperlinks online at http://www.nccprivacy.org/handv/040702villain.htm . _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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