Stop Secret Searches of Library and Bookstore Records

[Ian David]

Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005
From: TrueMajorityACTION <[e-mail]>
Subject: Stop Secret Searches of Library and Bookstore Records

"If the 1st Amendment means anything, it means that a state has
no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house, what
books he may read or what films he may watch." - Justice
Thurgood Marshall writing the majority opinion in STANLEY v.
GEORGIA


When the "Patriot Act" was first passed just six weeks after the
attacks of 9/11 it included several provisions that were, well,
un-American. One of the worst allows the government to go before
a secret court to get a secret subpoena to access just about any
records they want from libraries and bookstores to find out
who's reading what. Included in the subpoenas is a gag order for
the librarians and booksellers that threatens them with jail
time if they tell anyone (you, for example) about the search.
And because of the secrecy and gag orders these subpoenas can
never be challenged because the victims don't know about them
and the librarians and booksellers can't talk about them. <1>

When they finally got around to actually reading the Patriot
Act, many Members of Congress were concerned about this
intrusion on our liberties. Rep. Bernie Sanders pulled together
a coalition from the left and the right to overturn this madness
and last year offered an amendment to the budget forbidding any
money to be spent on these secret searches, essentially ending
them. Miracle of miracles, despite strong pressure from the
Republican leadership the amendment passed the House. Then, in
another un-American - and unprecedented - move the Republican
leadership said that the vote wasn't actually over and then
spent hours twisting arms getting Republican legislators to
change their votes. They kept this up until they had turned
enough votes and then, BANG, voting was ended. Shocking. For
those of you keeping score, that's parliamentary hijinks to
overturn a majority vote so that secret courts and gag orders
could be maintained.

Well, Rep. Sanders and his colleagues are going to try again
this week and this time we think they might win. Please take a
moment to join with the American Booksellers Association and the
American Library Association in telling your Congressmember to
support the Freedom to Read Protection Act. If you are a member
of TrueMajorityACTION, just click "Reply" and "Send" in your
email program to send a message (text below). If this email was
forwarded to you or you want to edit the message just click this
link:

http://action.truemajority.org/campaign/Freedom_to_Read_Act

To hear a fascinating story about how the system is supposed to
work click here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4676707 and
check out an NPR story about one library system that challenged
a conventional subpoena and won. <2> The lesson here is that if
the FBI had used the Patriot Act instead of traditional laws the
librarians couldn't have appealed and the subpoena couldn't have
been overturned.

Thanks for helping,

Andrew Greenblatt
Online Organizer

P.S. For those of you who may have feared that I was shipped off
to Guantanamo, or worse, I was just on paternity leave. Nothing
focuses your attention on improving our country quite like
having a baby. It's good to be back.

<1> For the record, Attorney General Gonzales claims there have
never been any secret searches. This "trust me" is from the same
guy who thinks it really isn't torture if all your vital organs
are still working.

<2> NPR report about a Washington State library that was ability
to fight off a standard subpoena:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4676707

Here is the letter we'll send to your Congressmember:

Dear Representative:

I urge you to join with legislators on both sides of the aisle
in supporting the Freedom to Read Act. The USA PATRIOT act gave
law enforcement officials new powers to conduct searches of
bookstore and library records that eliminate the safeguards
against unreasonable searches we rely on as a free people.

If the Freedom to Read Act passes law enforcement agencies will
still be able to search these records if they receive a valid
warrant, but any attempt to overreach can be checked by an
appeals process that has protected all of our rights for
hundreds of years. As an American I deserve nothing less.

Thank you for supporting freedom.

[Nite Owl]

1. Done

What a pain in the ass my rep is. Sweeney, CD20, NY
I had to copy and paste and go through rings at his website to send it to him, he won't take mail unless it's from his site with his headings. He's such a creep, we are working to get this one blue.

[benny05]

2. Nicely said.

I will be looking at that site a little more often.

As a librarian, I laud your efforts.

[realFedUp]

3. VOTE ALERT: Sanders Privacy Bill Draws Veto Threat

http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=80A75511-DC28-E526-AB5C8A04F3E64715

VOTE ALERT: Sanders Privacy Bill Draws Veto Threat

In a preview of the kind of gutsy moves he will take as a U.S. Senator, Vermont's Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders is preparing to offer an amendment today forcing the FBI to get a warrant before accessing citizens' reading habits at libraries and bookstore purchases. The USA Patriot Act allows the feds to do these kinds of searches with almost no judicial oversight - Sanders amendment would simply modify that specific provision to force more stringent checks on the federal government's power. Unfortunately, even though the President publicly says "there has got to be a certain sense of privacy," the White House is threatening to veto the bill if the amendment passes.

In 2003, Sanders and a bipartisan group of lawmakers tried to raise these same privacy concerns. The Justice Department opposed it, claimed "We're not going after the average American" and that "we respect the right to privacy" - and then refused to tell Congress how often it had used these new powers to secretly spy on people's reading habits. In fact, Judiciary Chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) told the Associated Press "that the Justice Department was sharing so little information, he could not assess how the Patriot Act was working."

The numbers, however, have become clear. In a survey conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, about 550 libraries across the country reported receiving requests over the past year from federal and local investigators for records of patrons. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft soon admitted that he had tripled the use of these secretive searches without warrants.

The last time this was voted on, the House GOP leadership held open the vote in the House for 23 minutes while arm-twisting their members to vote against it. The measure lost on a 210-210 tie, meaning this upcoming vote should be very close again, especially considering some of the Democrats who didn't vote for it last time have since been embarrassed into changing their position.

Let's be clear - no one is saying the FBI shouldn't be able to search through library/bookstore purchase records when investigating terrorists. All this measure says is that they should have to get a traditional warrant from a judge to do so - not that hard to do if the feds are investigating the kinds of awful and dangerous terrorists they promise us they are.

This requirement, which the Patriot Act runs roughshod over, is what makes our system different from a third-world police state: we have checks on police power. Getting a real warrant is a pretty basic requirement in a democratic society - and not too much to ask in protecting Americans' civil liberties. Urge your Member of Congress to support this amendment.


Sources:
Sanders bill draws White House veto threat:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/14/AR2005061401211.html
Bush says there needs to be "a certain sense of privacy":
http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/05/claim-vs-fact-bush-on-internet-privacy.html
Sensenbrenner says Congress given so little info:
http://bernie.house.gov/documents/articles/20030421102754.asp
550 libraries report federal requests:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A1481-2003Apr9
Ashcroft triples use of secret searches:
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/001978.html
Sanders' bill previously lost on a 210-210 tie:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37480-2004Jul8.html
Democrats who voted against Sanders have been embarrassed:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001979070_adamsmith14m.html