FBI director Muller told the Judiciary Committee today that the Committee should renew Patriot Act before it expires at the end of the year. Mueller further explained that such renewal will be less "controversial" then in the past. The Washington Post story which reported Mueller's testimony doesn't explain why these provisions would be less polemical, since they are the extension of the same provisions which caused previous outrage.
The story also contained other interesting details, but didn't elaborate on them. For example:
In response to a question from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mueller said that his agents had used a provision that helped authorities secure access to business records about 220 times between 2004 and 2007. Data for last year was not yet available, Mueller said.
It's the end of March, and the FBI doesn't know how often it used this extraordinary power last year? Shouldn't the Senate learn this detail before they sacrifice our freedoms further?
The story contained other interesting details without elaboration, for example:
In response to a question from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mueller said that his agents had used a provision that helped authorities secure access to business records about 220 times between 2004 and 2007. Data for last year was not yet available, Mueller said.
It's the end of March, and the FBI still doesn't know how often it used this extraordinary power in 2008? Shouldn't the Senate learn this detail before they sacrifice our freedoms further?