In attempting to pass the reauthorization of the expiring PATRIOT Act provisions as soon as possible, Majority Leader Harry Reid has descended into the kind of rhetoric that would have made former Vice President Dick Cheney proud, Spencer Ackerman reports:
All the libertarian senator Rand Paul wanted was to add amendments to the government’s cherished surveillance law that would protect Americans’ privacy. For this, Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, charged that Paul’s efforts would “increase the risk of a retaliatory terrorist strike against the homeland and hamper our ability to deal a truly fatal blow to al-Qaida.”
[...]
Remember back when a Republican was in the White House and demanded broad surveillance authority? Here's Reid back then. ”Whether out of convenience, incompetence, or outright disdain for the rule of law, the administration chose to ignore Congress and ignore the Constitution,” Reid said about Bush’s warrantless surveillance program. When Bush insisted Congress entrench that surveillance with legislation in 2008, Reid turned around and demanded Bush “stop fear-mongering and start being honest with the American people about national security.” Any claim about the detrimental impact about a lapse in widespread surveillance were “scare tactics” to Reid that ”irresponsibly distort reality.” (Then Reid rolled over for Bush.)
Why has Reid been ratcheting up the rhetoric? The White House is growing concerned that the authorization may not come through before the provisions expire. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper sent a letter to the Senate leadership of both parties warning that it could hamper the efforts to process intelligence gained from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound:
"At this time of enhanced threats to the United States, the intelligence and law enforcement communities are working at a rapid pace to analyze and exploit recently collected intelligence to safeguard our national security," he wrote. "The information obtained at the Osama Bin Laden compound must be quickly analyzed for any indications and warning of terrorist plots and attack plans. As part of this effort we are using all our collection authorities to investigate and prevent terrorist attacks."
The administration and Reid are overstating the peril here by an order of magnitude. As Julian Sanchez points out, the authority to use these tools remains in place for investigations in progress prior to the sunset, as well as those where suspected illegal conduct began prior to when the provisions are set to expire. Every investigation already in progress at the time of sunset gets to keep using expired provisions.
Most of the amendments Paul and his colleagues in the Senate are mild. That's not to understate their importance. They don't ask much of the government, but they could provide critical information to the public about the use of the massive surveillance powers the PATRIOT Act grants the authorities, as well as ensure that they're actually being used for what they're meant to be used for.
Everything's up in the air at the moment, and it's not clear what amendments, if any, might be voted on. Asked about the chances of oversight provisions being added to the reauthorization, a Senate aide said simply, "If I could answer this question, I would be a much happier individual." If they don't get a vote however, it won't be because doing so would place the country at grave risk, but because the administration and senators on both sides are resisting the changes.
UPDATE: A Senate aide confirms that there will be votes on two of Paul's amendments--presumably one of them will be Paul's gun rights amendment, but the Leahy-Paul amendment won't be one of them.
