Just the Facts

Ten Strong Facts to Support my Argument.

1. The Patriot Act allows wiretap and grand jury information to be shared within law enforcement offices, even if developed through a special court hearing. Probable cause, a judge, and the signed consent of the attorney general and the FBI are still all needed.
2. The Patriot Act contains a provision explicitly prohibiting discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans.
3. Section 801 makes it a federal offense to engage in attacks against mass transportation systems. Previously, as there was no specific laws, punishment against such an attack was vague or weak.
4. All of the tools granted by the Patriot Act require a court order.
5. Any of the surveillance tools of the Patriot Act also requires special permission from a FISA court. (Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act)
6. The Justice Department is required to provide Congress with detailed reports of its usage of Patriot Act tools every six months.
7. To date no congressional committee has found any evidence that law enforcement has abused the powers in the Patriot Act. The ACLU was unable to find one incidence of reported abuse of the Patriot Act. (The American Civil Liberties Union is one of the most powerful and extensive national civilian watchdog groups in the country.)
8. Section 211 clarifies the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, by allowing Internet providers to provide law enforcement officials about users Internet usage habits without fear of a civil suit. This right was previously unavailable, which lead to cohesion and fear on behalf of business owners to participate in criminal investigations.
9. After the Patriot Act was passed field guidance trained in the laws powers and checks went to US attorney offices about how best to utilize the Patriot Act. Over the next several years additional guidance and training was sent to lawyers across the lawyers.
10. Section 18 USC 2339A and 2339B make it a crime to provide material support to terrorists or terrorist organizations and carries enhanced penalties. Section 411 clearly lists 46 entities that are to be recognized as terrorist organizations and the Patriot Act specifically limits the crimes of Section 18 to these terrorist organizations. (The bigger deal with this fact- it would be impossible under the Patriot Act to discriminate against in-country, civilian organizations, as some claimed would occur)

I tried to pick out a selection of ten facts that would show a well0rounded view of the Patriot Act. Let me know what you think!