Fiercely Protecting Our Privacy

by digby

I love to bash the Bush hadministration as much as the next person, but all this talk about trashing the Bill of Rights has got to stop. The administration has a stellar record of protecting American’s civil liberties, even in the darkest early days, just a couple of months after 9/11. I’m sure you all remember this:

Ashcroft Blocks FBI Access to Gun Records

Critics Call Attorney General’s Decision Contradictory in Light of Terror Probe Tactics

By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 7, 2001; Page A26

The FBI will not be permitted to compare the names of suspected terrorists against federal gun purchase records, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft told the Senate on December 6, offering no encouragement to senators willing to guarantee the FBI the authority to do so.

Defending his decision to block the FBI from using gun documents in its terror probe, Ashcroft said the law does not allow investigators to review the federal records created when a buyer applies to purchase a weapon at a gun store.

Some critics charged that Ashcroft’s strong opposition to gun control is interfering with his role as the government’s top cop. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accusing him of “handcuffing” the FBI, pressed him unsuccessfully to say why he did not seek access to gun records when he claimed expanded investigatory powers after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

When Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) asked Ashcroft whether he wants the power to review gun records in the fight against terrorism, Ashcroft replied that he would not comment on a “hypothetical.”

Bush administration officials said information collected by gun stores for use in background checks was not intended for other law enforcement purposes. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the administration is following a regulation signed in January by Attorney General Janet Reno, who ruled that records can be used only to audit the background check system.

Such regulations are easily changed, countered Clinton administration officials and other critics. They pointed out that Ashcroft has issued an order permitting federal investigators to listen to attorney-client conversations and sought to lengthen the time illegal immigrants can be held before being charged. At his request, Congress has granted many other powers in recent months.

When you hear all these shrieking moonbats going on and on about the Republicans shredding the constitution, remind them of this. When the whole nation was losing its head, the Bush justice department kept its eye on the ball. Their priorities were straight. It is better that a hundred terrorists have an arsenal than even one citizens’ gun buying records are saved long enough to compare them to a terrorist watch list. That’s the kind of integrity this administration has.

So why should we suspect them of using these illegal wiretaps for partisan purposes? When it comes to fighting terrorists, the Bush administration has never played politics.

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