- The chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary
Committee are increasingly frustrated by the failure of Attorney General
John Ashcroft to respond to any inquiries concerning his broad new powers
in dealing with accused terrorists.
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- Underscoring rising tensions between the White House
and Congress, the committee has demanded that Ashcroft appear as the lone
witness at a hearing next week.
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- Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah),
the Judiciary chairman and ranking member, respectively, sent a terse
three-sentence letter sent to their former colleague on Friday.
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- "We suggest Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001, and ask that
you make yourself available for several hours," the senators wrote.
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- The committee staff and Department of Justice staff are
negotiating the exact date, according to Leahy spokesman David Carle.
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- Lawmakers want information about the more than 1,000
people detained in the criminal investigation, changes allowing law enforcement
to listen in on lawyer-client communications in some cases, what law enforcement
might have done to prevent the attacks, and how to ensure civil liberties
under sweeping anti-terrorism legislation signed into law.
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- Leahy has sent six letters to Aschroft and has signed
two with other lawmakers. Ashcroft personally has yet to respond to any
of them, but Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant responded to one
issue on Nov. 14.
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- The letters -- sent between Oct. 25 and Nov. 16 -- even
include personal notes from Leahy such as "Looking forward to your
response," and, "Many people are concerned about this -- I do
need the questions answered."
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- Susan Dryden, a Justice Department spokeswoman, failed
to return several phone calls from The Hill.
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- "Given the grave importance of this matter and its
implications for basic civil liberties, I would appreciate a response
to these questions by no later than Nov. 13," Leahy wrote on Nov.
9. "I would also respectfully request that full and responsive answers
to my earlier letters of Oct. 25 and 31 and Nov. 7 and 8, 2001, be provided
without delay."
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- Leahy, who included in the letter a list of seven questions
he wanted answered, was especially critical of the provision allowing the
government to listen to conversations between inmates and their lawyers
in certain situations. He has expressed anger that he was not consulted
before that decision.
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- Leahy had pointed criticism for Ashcroft's lack of response
to the many questions raised by lawmakers since Sept. 11. "They tend
to ignore us over here once they've been confirmed," Leahy told The
Hill.
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- But Hatch was more willing to give Ashcroft the benefit
of the doubt.
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- "I'm always concerned about the appropriate utilization
of law enforcement techniques," Hatch said. "On the other hand,
I don't want to interfere with properly utilized law enforcement that may
be protective of our American citizens."
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- Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), the only senator to vote
against the increased investigative powers included in the anti-terrorism
legislation signed into law last month, has been a key ally on the issue,
as has Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). In the House, conservative Rep. Bob
Barr (R-Ga.) joined a group of liberal Democrats on Friday calling for
hearings as well.
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- Carle said Ashcroft testified once during consideration
of the anti-terrorism legislation but refused to return for two subsequent
hearings.
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- "There's a feeling on both sides of the Hill and
both sides of the aisle that the lack of consultation is becoming a problem,"
Carle said.
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- Leahy made his displeasure known in most of his letters.
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- "I have felt a growing concern that the trust and
cooperation Congress provided is proving to be a one-way street,"
Leahy wrote in the Nov. 9 letter. "You have declined several requests
to appear before the committee to answer questions and have not responded
to requests to provide information on such basic points as the number of
people S currently detained without trial."
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- Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen said he supported
Congress holding hearings on his top concern -- an executive order allowing
for military tribunals to try suspected terrorists.
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- "No matter how well-meaning any government is, and
no matter how much trust we have in individuals, over a period of time,
that power, once granted, can be seriously abused," Cohen told The
Hill. "So I think it's important that Congress play a major role,
start holding hearings, give the public an opportunity to really speak
about it as well."
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- The American Civil Liberties Union and American Bar Association
have also registered their complaints concerning similar issues. A broad
coalition of human rights organizations, including the ACLU, the First
Amendment Foundation and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has
filed a Freedom of Information Act request to try to obtain answers from
the Justice Department specifically on the detainees.
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- The ABA, the nation's largest lawyers' organization,
said the monitoring provision runs "squarely afoul" with the
Fourth and Sixth amendments. The ACLU released a similarly critical statement
and labeled the move an "unprecedented power grab."
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- http://www.truthout.com/11.28D.Ashcroft.Silence.htm
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