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Title: Prosecutors drop appeal in Patriot Act librarian case
Source:
Associated Press
URL Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/co ... in_patriot_act_librarian_case/
Published: Apr 12, 2006
Author: Associated Press
Post Date: 2006-04-12 13:17:53 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 4
Comments: 1
STAMFORD, Conn. --Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they will no longer seek to enforce a gag order on Connecticut librarians who received an FBI demand for records about library patrons under the Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought a lawsuit on behalf of the librarians, said it will identify them once court proceedings are completed in the next few weeks. U.S. District Judge Janet Hall ruled last year that the gag order should be lifted, because it unfairly prevented the librarians from participating in a debate over how the Patriot Act should be rewritten. Prosecutors had been appealing that ruling. But U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said Wednesday that the librarian had already been identified in news reports and the Patriot Act was changed to include a procedure to request an exemption from the nondisclosure requirement. "For both practical and legal reasons, we have determined that continuing to pursue this appeal does not make sense," O'Connor said. The decision comes after the Patriot Act was reauthorized by Congress, the ACLU noted. "Here is yet another example of how the Bush administration uses the guise of national security to play partisan politics," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "The American public should keep this in mind the next time a government official invokes national security in defense of secrecy." Federal prosecutors have maintained that secrecy about its demands for records is necessary to keep from alerting suspects and jeopardizing terrorism investigations. They contend the gag order prevented only the release of the client's identity, not the client's ability to speak about the Patriot Act. The appeal was limited to the gag order. The underlying case, focusing on the nondisclosure provision of the old law, remains open for now, O'Connor said. The Washington Post and New York Times have reported that the FBI issued a national security letter to George Christian, executive director of Library Connection, a Windsor, Conn.-based cooperative of 26 libraries that share an automated library system. A message was left Wednesday seeking comment from Christian. The Patriot Act, passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, allowed expanded surveillance of terror suspects, increased use of material witness warrants to hold suspects incommunicado and permitted secret proceedings in immigration cases. It also removed a requirement that any records sought in a terrorism investigation be those of someone under suspicion. Now, anyone's records can be obtained if the FBI considers them relevant to a terrorism or spying investigation.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Good job, ACLU.
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