Dan Eggen of The Washington Post on Anti-Terror Power Used Broadly: Laws Invoked Against Crimes Unrelated to Terror, Report Says:
Although the Patriot Act was passed in response to Sept. 11, the report shows prosecutors have used many of the legislation's new powers to pursue cases not related to terrorism.
The report cites a case in which prosecutors were able to use the Patriot Act to seize stolen funds that a fugitive lawyer had stashed in bank accounts in Belize. Similar tactics have been used in cases involving drugs, credit card fraud, theft from a bank account and kidnapping, the report shows.
Tim Edgar, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the report confirms fears that Justice and the FBI would abuse some of their new powers. "Many of these terrorism powers were actually being asked for as a way of increasing the government's authority in other areas," Edgar said.
Those of involved in the Coalition for Constitutional Liberties and In Defense of Freedom spoke to this issue previously. Our concerns were, it seems, not unwarranted. Bottom line – the PATRIOT Act was less about tracking terrorists and more about expansion of police powers.
This entry also posted at The Watchtower.