Yesterday, the House Committee on the Judiciary released the answers it received from repeated requests for information from the Justice Department:
House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) today released the answers (http://www.house.gov/judiciary/patriotlet051303.pdf) received last week from the Justice Department regarding the USA PATRIOT Act and the war on terrorism.
Chairman Sensenbrenner and Rep. Conyers wrote Attorney General John Ashcroft on April 1, 2003 (http://www.house.gov/judiciary/patriot040103.htm) requesting information on these issues. Chairman Sensenbrenner said, "The Justice Department should be commended for the timing and thoroughness of these answers. These answers will assist the Judiciary Committee in fulfilling its legislative and oversight responsibilities and should prove helpful in any future debate about extending all or part of the USA PATRIOT Act. In addition, I hope Members and the public will review the Department’s answers for an accurate understanding of what the USA PATRIOT Act authorizes, and how this law is being implemented."
Ranking Member Conyers said, "I appreciate the fact that the Justice Department responded to our queries in a timely basis. I wish they would have been more forth coming in terms of manner in which and how freely the new powers have been used. I look forward to engaging in further oversight with the Department on this critical civil liberties issue."
I'm glad that DoJ has finally started to respond to Judiciary's demands for information, but bear in mind, this is the same Justice Department that initially claimed that there was no sequel to the PATRIOT Act in the works. What was it that Kissinger said? "Trust, but verify." Yeah, that's it.
Link courtesy of Kit Gage via the In Defense of Freedom mailing list. This entry also posted at The Watchtower.