ZGram - 11/27/2001 - "Ashcroft's Silence"

[irimland@zundelsite.org]

Copyright (c) 2001 - Ingrid A. Rimland

ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny

November 27, 2001

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

It seems that the forces are gathering to ask a few questions that are overdue:

[START]

Ashcroft's Silence Exacerbates Hill, White House Tensions
By Noelle Straub and Melanie Fonder

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.

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.

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.

"We suggest Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001, and ask that you make


yourself available for several hours," the senators wrote.

The committee staff and Department of Justice staff are negotiating the
exact date, according to Leahy spokesman David Carle.

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.

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.

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."

Susan Dryden, a Justice Department spokeswoman, failed to return several
phone calls from The Hill.

"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."

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.

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.

But Hatch was more willing to give Ashcroft the benefit of the doubt.

"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."

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.

Carle said Ashcroft testified once during consideration of the
anti-terrorism legislation but refused to return for two subsequent
hearings.

"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.

Leahy made his displeasure known in most of his letters.

"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."

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.

"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."

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.

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."

[END]

(Soruce:  http://www.truthout.com/11.28D.Ashcroft.Silence.htm)

=====

Thought for the Day:

"Character is much easier kept than recovered."

(Thomas Paine)