Attorney General Nominee 'Would Expect" To Support Section 215 of Patriot Act
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 01/22/2009
- ALA lobbied for change
- Before Senate, Holder suggests status quo
- ALA still hopes for reform
In a report last month to the transition team of President Barack Obama, the American Library Association (ALA) recommended that his administration “conduct a thorough review of the USA PATRIOT Act and investigate the abuses of national security letters and other law enforcement tools,” along with "amending Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, to protect reader privacy and related civil liberties.” The latter allows searches of business records, including that of libraries, in terrorism investigations, without probable cause of a crime and with a gag order.
In testimony last Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, however, Attorney General nominee Eric Holder expressed qualified support for maintaining Section 215. Asked about the provision, as well as others, he responded, “That's one that I think has certainly generated more controversy, I believe, than the other two. And I think that the examination, the questions that I need to ask people in the field and who have been using that, I'd want to know as much as I possibly can. But as I said, the tools that we have been given by Congress in FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] are important ones. And so I would look at all three of these and make the determination as to whether or not I will be able to support them. But I would expect that I would.”
The San Francisco Chronicle headlined its story, Under Obama, feds may still snoop library files
ALA response
Asked for comment, Emily Sheketoff, Executive Director of ALA’s Washington Office, said, “We continue to work with our Senate allies on legislation which will address the problems in previously passed legislation. It would be unfortunate if Mr. Holder opposed these improvements, but I'm not convinced that would be his position. I didn't see the hearing and I know from experience that a full discussion might not have been possible in that hearing's format.”
The Chronicle noted that Obama, as a Senator, supported reform legislation proposed by Sen. Russ Feingold, D-WI, which would limit searches to terrorism suspects, and would allow those keeping the records to resist in court.
