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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (1289)	12/6/2001 1:26:05 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 15516

Leahy lauds Portland for standing up to Ashcroft's Muslim inquisition Posted on Wednesday, December 05 @ 09:48:14 EST By Jeff Mapes and Maxine Bernstein, Oregon Live Portland's refusal to participate in a federal anti-terrorism investigation was defended Monday by U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who said he'd block any congressional effort to force the city to take part. Leahy, during a visit to the University of Portland, questioned federal plans to interrogate about 5,000 foreigners living in the United States -- about 200 in Oregon -- and praised city officials for their stand. "It was a completely useless waste of law enforcement," Leahy told students. "I don't think it would accomplish much of anything." Leahy, who has tangled recently with U.S. Attorney General John Aschcroft on several legal issues surrounding the fight against terrorism, said it was ridiculous to expect anyone to admit in an interview that he was connected with al-Qaida or any other terrorist organization. "In any area like this," Leahy added in an interview, "you give a lot of leeway to the local police." Leahy said he would use his chairmanship to stop any attempt by Congress to force Portland or other local jurisdictions to participate. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, has questioned whether Portland should continue receiving federal law enforcement aid if it declines to participate. The city has said state law prohibits officers from asking some of the questions posed by the Department of Justice. Leahy was in Portland visiting relatives, and he spoke at two classes, one of which was taught by his brother-in-law, the Rev. Claude Pomerleau, a political science professor at the school. The senator also said there was little need for military tribunals to prosecute foreign terrorists. "Why not trust the system as it is?" said Leahy. Many elements of the proposed tribunals are "things we have condemned in other countries" as a violation of human rights. Meanwhile, at a meeting Monday of the Chief's Forum at the Portland Police Bureau, Chief Mark Kroeker said he felt like a salesman as he continued his push to explain the legal reasoning behind the bureau's decision not to assist in the interviews. The Chief's Forum is an advisory group of community members who meet twice a month with the chief. Responding to questions from forum members, Kroeker also said he was open to the state Legislature examining two state statutes that Portland city attorneys say restrict police participation. One governs police collection and retention of information, and the other prevents police from enforcing federal immigration laws. "I think they should be revisited. Maybe there's a way for them to be updated," Kroeker said. "It binds us. It restricts us." The chief said he did not have an opinion about whether the law should be changed but that lawmakers might follow the federal government's lead in "opening up" or "loosening up" investigative restrictions considering the current national climate and the country's war against terrorism. Several forum members cautioned against that, saying they supported the restrictions as important civil rights protections. State Attorney General Hardy Myers ruled last week that state law did not restrict Oregon State Police and investigators in the Oregon Department of Justice from participating in the interviews. State investigators are assisting federal authorities. Some state lawmakers have requested that the statutes be reviewed in the upcoming legislative session. Any review probably would not occur until after the federal anti-terrorism interviews are completed this month. Reprinted from Oregon Live: oregonlive.com index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/ base/portland_news/100747058020908210.xml