Bush's attorney general pick a Patriot Act defender

President Bush's nominee to replace departing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has a history of sticking up for the electronic-surveillance powers expanded by the controversial USA Patriot Act.

That's one of the tidbits about retired federal judge Michael Mukasey that the White House is playing up--in boldface type, no less--as part of a fact sheet distributed as the president announced his pick Monday.

Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey with President Bush on Monday

(Credit: White House)

Mukasey, a Reagan appointee with 18 years of experience as a district judge in New York, aired an apparently pro-Patriot Act position in a 2004 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, suggesting that the law gave federal police vital new powers.

"I think most people would have been surprised and somewhat dismayed to learn that before the Patriot Act was passed, an FBI agent could apply to a court for a roving wiretap, if a drug dealer switched cell phones, as they often do, but not if an identified agent of a foreign terrorist organization did; and could apply for a wiretap to investigate illegal sports betting, but not to investigate a potentially catastrophic computer hacking attack, the killing of U.S. nationals abroad, or the giving of material support to a terrorist organization," he wrote. "Violations like those simply were not on the list of offenses for which wiretaps could be authorized."

Mukasey also took issue with complaints by library and civil-liberties groups about a section of the law that allows police to seek a secret court's permission to subpoena "tangible" business records, including logs of library books borrowed. (The March 2006 renewal of the Patriot Act stipulates that the section, known as Section 215, expire in December 2009.)

Although he noted that as of his writing, police hadn't even requested such records, Mukasey said library records could prove "highly relevant" in criminal investigations, such as in the case of the infamous "Unabomber," Ted Kaczynski.

"Like any other act of Congress, the Patriot Act should be scrutinized, criticized and, if necessary, amended," he wrote. "But in order to scrutinize and criticize it, it helps to read what is actually in it."

The early odds of Mukasey's Senate confirmation are looking fairly good, with key Democrats voicing guarded optimism about the choice. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid praised the president in a statement for, in his view, not appointing "another partisan administration insider." He said Mukasey "has strong professional credentials and a reputation for independence," though he cautioned against any "rush to judgment" on the candidate.

[jimmyhoops]

Another croney to carry the torch of Constitutional dissolution.

Bush wants to place another political lackey that will move
forward his plans to dissolve the Constitution of the United
States and take away the few remaining freedoms left to
American citizens guaranteed by the Constitution.

It's a shame that the American people don't wake up from their
slumber. The time to act is NOW. Our liberties have been
eroded by false claims of securing Americans when there is NO
proof that we are more safe now then prior to the attacks on
9/11.

I ask you all, do you feel safer now then you did BEFORE 9/11?
The '(un)Patriot Act' is nothing more then a way to do away with
the Constitution and to enable the federal government the right
to institute martial law as they did after Hurricane Katrina. And
if you don't believe this statement, then you should check out
how our Second Amendment rights were thrown out after that
disaster. The Second Amendment to the United States
Constitution Guarantees an Individual Right To Keep and Bear
Arms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-taU9d26wT4

We live in very desperate times, the time to take action and
speak out about preserving the highest law of the land, The
Constituion of the United States, is now.

Vote for Ron Paul in 2008. He is the only man who will seek to
protect and to re-instate ALL the statutes of the Constitution.

[PzkwVIb]

The Constitutution

is not made up of statutes. Try to use the correct terminology.

[spiffy1001]

Destroying the Constitution

Yes, President Bush is SO devious... He ran for Governor of Texas, won, served four years, then was reelected, then ran for President, served 4 years, and was reelected just so he could destroy the constitution. He sure pulled the wool over our eyes!

If you want to disagree with the man, do it, but he is not wanting to dissolve the Republic. Get a grip.

[fafafooey]

[DN]C-Net and Liberal Kooks want to bury heads in sand again

The further away we get from 9/11, the more the liberal kooks and editorials-disgused-as-news sites like [DN]C-Net want us to go back to burying our heads in the sand.

They seem to want to insure that the terrorists have a "fair shot" at hitting us again.

Thank goodness the adults are in charge and not the kooks.

[PzkwVIb]

Better to die free

than to live in tyranny. The road we are travelling down is the road to Fascism. If you don't believe that ask some members of the WWII generation.

[Dalkorian]

thanks

Thanks fafafooey, I needed a good laugh. I hope that was intended
as being satirical, the idea that someone so blind to what's going
on around him/her using his/her vote to destroy everything we
love about our great nation would send shivers down my spine.