Is the FBI Lying to Congress about its Abuses of the “PATRIOT” Act?

Juan Cole 04/07/2011

Techdirt asks, “Is the FBI lying to Congress about its abuses of the PATRIOT Act? and answers in the affirmative.

Actually there is plenty of indication in the public record of abuses in the sense of using the act for criminal rather than purely security-related prosecutions and warrantless wiretapping, something the Bureau initially promised never to do.

Former Senator Russ Feingold appears to have seen internal Bureau memos that make it clear that the abuses are even more serious than that, and obviously are sustained.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The case for gutting our Bill of Rights on security grounds is so weak as to be non-existent. Someone please drive a stake through the heart of this tyrannical and unconstitutional Act.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page