ABUSE OF THE PATRIOT ACT

FOR MANY, the fear all along was that, sooner or later, it would come
to this: The Patriot Act, which sidesteps due process and overrides
certain civil liberties for the sake of combating international
terrorism, is now being used by federal law enforcement as a tool
against non-terrorists as well.

In a report to Congress, the U.S. Justice Department admits taking
advantage of the powerful act to investigate, wiretap, surveil and
confiscate millions of dollars in alleged crime-related assets from
U.S. citizens.

This is not how the White House sold the idea to Congress and rest of
us just five days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. U.S. Attorney
General John Ashcroft has consistently portrayed the law as a way to
disrupt terrorism, bristling at suggestions that it might be used
otherwise. "We have used (the act) to prevent terrorists from
unleashing more death and destruction on our soil," he said.

But he failed to mention that his agency is also using the Patriot
Act's sweeping authority to investigate suspected financial crimes,
drug dealers, computer hackers, cash smugglers, child pornographers
and more.

If the Bush administration wants to peel back constitutional
guarantees of due process for such crimes, it should do so
forthrightly -- not in a stealth move, under the guise of fighting
terrorism.

Congress should weigh the law's impact and scrutinize its potential
for abuse before deciding whether to extend it beyond 2005.