On The Front Lines
In Recent Letter to Congress and New Book from Greenhaven Press, Rutherford Institute President Calls for Broad Review of Patriot Act
In a recent letter to members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, has joined a broad bipartisan coalition of organizations and individuals in calling for a broad review of the USA Patriot Act and the state of post-9/11 civil liberties in general. Whitehead's concerns on the Patriot Act have also been included in a new book by Greenhaven Press, which is part of their "Opposing Viewpoints" series."Certain provisions of the USA Patriot Act reflect a steady assault on fundamental rights and liberties that has served only to make us less free, and not more secure," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "Not only does the Patriot Act inhibit and chill free expression by American citizens, it is also an intrusive violation of our privacy and undermines the Fourth Amendment to our Constitution, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures."
When the U.S. Congress passed the USA Patriot Act a mere 45 days after September 11, 2001, it restricted the broad legislation by mandating that certain provisions would "sunset" at the end of 2005. Now as Congress begins debates on whether the provisions governed by the sunset restrictions should expire or be renewed, The Rutherford Institute, along with a broad coalition of national and local groups, urged members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in an April 18 letter to refrain from focusing too narrowly on provisions of the Act and instead review a number of concerns involving civil rights, human rights and civil liberties issues. Citing the "anti-Patriot Act" resolutions passed by more than 360 communities and four states, the letter calls on Congress to review a number of issues within and outside the scope of the controversial legislation. These include mass secret arrests of Arabs and Muslims followed by detention for extended periods without charges, denials of access to counsel, secret hearings, and in some cases, abuse by prison guards; detentions of Americans incommunicado as "enemy combatants" without access to lawyers or the courts; and massive growth in surveillance technologies and authority (including the authority under the USA Patriot Act to seize library and medical records and all commercial databases) with inadequate legal protections against abuse. As controversy continues to swirl around the Patriot Act, and various entities weigh in on the license the act provides, Greenhaven Press has published The Patriot Act: Opposing Viewpoints. John W. Whitehead's commentary, "The Patriot Act Should Be Terminated," is included alongside a broad spectrum of arguments in favor of and opposed to the Patriot Act from leading figures like George W. Bush, Tom Ridge, John Ashcroft, and Russ Feingold, and authors Michelle Malkin and Thom Hartmann. In his commentary, which was first released on Jan. 26, 2004, Whitehead refers to the Patriot Act as "a politician's dream--and a civil libertarian's nightmare" and voices his concern that the act has turned "the FBI, CIA and INS into secret police."
For more on the USA Patriot Act, visit our Operation Eroding Freedom weblog.
The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
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