by Dennis J. Kucinich
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich
Mar. 16, 2012
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who has led opposition to the PATRIOT Act since its inception, today released the following statement after the Justice Department confirmed it maintains classified legal interpretations of the Act.
“In response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Department of Justice recently confirmed that it maintains secret interpretations of Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. The lawsuit requests that the Department of Justice turn over any files it has on its legal interpretation of Section 215. Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee have stated that Americans would be ‘stunned’ if they knew that the government has such secret interpretations.
“Section 215 orders are already overly broad. I am gravely concerned that Congress and the American public are not allowed to know how the government interprets its powers under the law.
“Known as the ‘Business Records’ provisions, Section 215 allows the Federal Bureau of Investigation to order any person or business to turn over ‘any tangible things’ as long as it specifies it is for an ‘authorized investigation.’” This provision constitutes a serious violation of our Fourth and First Amendment rights by allowing the government to demand access to records such as library and medical records, even from innocent Americans who are not a target of an investigation.
“The government already maintains sweeping powers under the PATRIOT Act. It has a responsibility to protect the rights of all U.S. citizens without undermining the rights of other citizens. Keeping legal interpretations of such laws a secret undermines public trust and further erodes our constitutional principles. I urge the Department of Justice to make public its interpretation and use of Section 215 orders.”
see
Barack Obama’s Executive Order: National Defense Resources Preparedness
Ralph Nader: Ron Paul and I agree on ending the empire
Charles Shaw: The History of Police Militarization in the U.S. (must-see)
Filed under: Civil Rights, Dandelion Salad Posts News Politics and-or Videos 2, Dennis Kucinich, FBI, Kucinich-Dennis J., Patriot Act, Police State Tagged: | ACLU, Meet the new boss the same as the old boss, Police State on Dandelion Salad
what i want to know isWHAT THE HELL IS THISONE STEP FORWARD/ONE STEP BACK SO CALLED PROTEST MOVEMENT WAITING FOR!!!!!!!!!come on folks while we took the winter the “MATRIC” had millions of their brain dead slaves doing evil every day/24-7 destroyind the world&environment,water,food etc/murdered hundreds of thousands world wide,destroyed whats left of our constitution&bill of rights,passed more insane laws,namely making protesting the gov. a crime,while making sure that once the protests start again,we protesters will be destroyed by either the military?cops or any other thugs they unleash against us!!!!!!!we can no longer afford to wait a day longer to begin massive,not small protests,because the only weapon we have left that these idiots can’t deal with is our massive numbers!!!!!soooooo lets get going right now people before it is too late!!!! ho ka hey/it is a good time to live
This is something the Occupy movement needs to protest about!! and shared!!
Thanks for sharing, chenier327. Yes, we all need to protest this.
I tell ya, there is even more to protest about, than in the sixties!! We still have war, we still have starving people, there is no healthcare per se…. and money that equals nothing!! We can take our pick these days of what to be miserable about…SAD