(2003-08-02) Patriot Act Abuses

CNN says A Justice Department investigation into more than 1,000 recent claims of civil rights and civil liberties violations under the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act concluded that 34 were credible... Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said Monday that the agency is "committed to pursuing every allegation of Civil Liberty-s violations by federal law enforcement officers." But he added that the relatively small number of credible complaints makes it "pretty clear that this is not a huge problem."... The report identified 272 complaints as within the inspector general's jurisdiction, of which 34 were deemed credible and investigated.

After the June2 Justice Department report on the treatment of detainees, Nat Hentoff's piece quoted EdwardBennettWilliams: "The immunities defined in this Bill of Liberties (Bill Of Rights) were set forth in order that the promise of Individual Freedom might be made explicit. The framers dreamed that if their hope were codified, man's energies of mind and spirit might be released from fear."

That June2 report may also be leading to a class-action lawsuit. A federal judge has no business reviewing immigration enforcement, an executive branch function, officials say in their court documents. Moreover, says John Ashcroft in his response papers, "(the plaintiffs') status as illegal aliens bears on their claim of any constitutional right" - meaning he believes noncitizens do not enjoy even the basic rights that Americans do.