Patriot Act Provisions Get Obama Support

Sept. 15, 2009— -- The Justice Department has indicated that the Obama administration is in support of renewing a pair of controversial sections of the USA Patriot Act that expire later this year. The provisions that will expire in December include Section 206, that allows "roving" wiretaps so FBI agents can tap multiple phones or computers (with court authorization) that a specific person (target) may use.

Another expiring provision, Section 215, is the so-called "library provision," which allows investigators to obtain business records with approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

And the final provision which was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" authorization, allows intelligence gathering of people not suspected of being part of a foreign government or known terrorist organization.

Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich in a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, sent yesterday, notes, "We recommend reauthorizing section 206 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which provides for roving surveillance of targets who take measures to thwart FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] surveillance. It has proven an important intelligence-gathering tool in a small but significant subset of FISA electronic surveillance orders."

Leahy has set a hearing for next Wednesday to address the issue. In his own statement, Leahy said today, "I am pleased that the Justice Department has signaled its willingness to work with Congress in addressing the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. It is important that Congress and the executive branch work together to ensure that we protect both our national security and our civil liberties. The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next week to determine how we can best do this, and I look forward to hearing further from the administration and parties on all sides of this issue."

Weich's letter notes that only about 20 applications for wiretaps are filed every year. "Since the roving authority was added to FISA in 2001, the government has sought to use it in a relatively small number of cases (on average, 22 applications a year). We would be pleased to brief members or staff regarding actual numbers, along with specific case examples, in a classified setting."