Attacking Liberty?

" Hello and welcome to freedom watch your daily dose of raw liberty streaming online of foxnews.com. I'm your host judge Everett about shadow here defending freedom defending your natural rights and defending your right to have a government. That stays within the confines of the constitution. A self written search warrant. Even one called a national security letter is the ultimate assault on constitutionally guaranteed freedom. Why would government agents bother going to a judge with probable cause seeking a search warrant if they can simply write their own. Big Brother must have caught on because federal agents have written. And have executed the -- search warrants out over a 120000. Unsuspecting Americans since October 2001. Is this the society we want. Have we ultimately elected government to spy on all of us the Fourth Amendment. Is the linchpin to our personal privacy and individual dignity. Without the fourth amendment's protections will become another east Germany the congress must recognize this before it is too late. Joining me now is Mike German national security policy council at the American Civil Liberties Union and a former FBI special agent. Mike testified on these abuses. Allowed by the Patriot Act before the house judiciary subcommittee. On the constitution. Civil rights and civil liberties earlier this month. Mike it's a pleasure welcome of freedom watch."

" Thank you thank you for having me again."

" Do you think that the congress and we'll get into the Republican versus Democrat thing later -- regardless of who controls -- now. Is actually going to extend. The portions of the Patriot Act that are up for expiration at the end of this year. And we authorize. The abuse of our constitutional liberties."

" I think that there's little doubt that they'll be extended what we're hoping for is that bit in the extension they will limit down somewhat. And also limits some of the other authorities that have -- proven to be at."

" You. I know that there are there's a lot of companion legislation. And -- was much legislation written. In the Bush Administration which expand that on things and the Patriot Act I mean. For example there's -- intelligence authorization act of 2004. Which is basically just giving money to the intelligence agencies that redefined the word financial institutions that phrases and the Patriot Act. And that phrase allows federal agents of which were once one. To prepare their own search warrants and serve -- on financial institutions but if you go to the other legislation. And see the definition of financial institutions and includes everything from. Delicatessen -- hospitals to hotels. To lawyers' offices to the post office so other is that a panoply of legislation out there. Which gives federal agents extraordinary. Power extra constitutional power. Word a constitutional. Underpinnings. Or lack of discussed in any way at this hearing where you testified last week."

" Certainly it was brought up and I and my testimony and and the testimony of some of the other witnesses that so. Yet basically the argument that were making is that congress really -- it because just as you said this is a number of different laws that have been amended through the Patriot Act and through a lot of the follow on legislation. So congress really have to sit down and figure out how all these different authorities. Are being used to understand how tweaking wind might just lead to more abuse of what of another red and there's a perfect example of that. With this section 215 authorities then and I'd be happy to talk about that. What what are the 215 authorities what what is section 215 and what did you say about it when you testified last week like. Section 250 might remember was caught the library provision basically what it allows the FBI to do is to go to this secret foreign intelligence surveillance court. And get an order for any tangible thing for anything they say it's relevant to their investigation. So it's it's an enormously broad power. And and basically. Groups like the American civil liberties here a lot of other civil liberties groups became very concerned because this was such a broad authority where they could. The government could common crap you know what reading material you're you're buying from Arab ready from the library -- buying from bookstores. So with an authority that we are very concerned about. Well it turns out after a couple of IG reports. That that that authority is used very infrequently because as you said the national security letters. Which don't even require that small step of going to this secret court. He gives it the FBI the authority did to circumvent it. Well there was one case the IG. -- found in his report. Where the FBI had twice gone to this secret court looking for one of these sections to fifteen orders and twice the this secret court told the FBI now this is a violation of this person's First Amendment right."

" And of course if one of these self written search warrants which the FBI and the statute. Call national security matters is served on your doctor your lawyer your computer server you're. Telephone knack carrier your -- dentist your Buick delicatessen that the list is almost endless. And the government gathers private information about you and doesn't use it in any prosecution against you. You might never know. That you have lost your right to be left alone that your fourth amendment rights were violated that your privacy was exquisitely violated. Because the recipient of that warrant just told wanna serve bomb bomb. You can't tell anybody about this."

" That's right there's a gag order that comes with that it comes with a section 215 orders as well. And the ACLU is has challenged that in court and and it's twice been found unconstitutional. At one point that big that congress tweaked it just a little bit but it's still been found on."

" we know we not you talked earlier about libraries we know in the in the library in case. Where the Bush Administration prosecuted and 86 year old library and Bridgeport Connecticut. On the eve of the judge. In the trial of a criminal case signaling to the Justice Department that she was going to declare that unconstitutional the crime was not. They -- to comply with the search warrant requirement that you told another librarian that she received the subpoena. The government asked the court to dismiss the indictment rather than suffer the declaration of on constitutionality. What what how does this end we have but FBI agents your former colleagues. Being told that court they can't do something. And doing and on the wrong and we have the Justice Department being told I'm about to declare something unconstitutional. Something has been already declared unconstitutional. And doing it nevertheless and all of this is done in secret and the targets are rarely ever aware that the government has them in their cross hairs."

" And that's exactly right what we really need is a lot of transparency and it's really Congress's obligation to to pull that curtain back."

" Was there any serious. Discussion. When you testified before the house judiciary subcommittee. About whether any of this is unconstitutional. About whether any federal agents under any circumstances. Should be able to write their own search warrants or go to C reports or whether the Fourth Amendment as written and that's what's interpreted. For 150 years should be enforced today."

" I've not nearly enough I mean certainly that was part of my testimony was part of the testimony of an amber the other witnesses. So we're hoping that congress is getting the message in there are a couple of pieces of legislation out there now. That would narrow this. Authority quite a bit there's -- justice act by senators Feingold and Durbin. That is a comprehensive bill that looks -- a lot of these different authorities and tries to narrow them to bring them more in line with the constitution. But we're hoping that that congress acts Mike Sherman thanks for joining us on freedom watch. Thank you very much ravaged metropolitan."