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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Hurst who wrote (8431)	12/10/2001 11:44:32 AM
From: jlallen	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 93284

No. I don't think so. Ashcroft was talking about demolib pinheads who make up threats to liberties where none exist so as to try to gain a partisan advantage. The military tribunal issue is a perfect example. Dissent is protected like dissent over attorney client eavesdropping or lengthy detentions without being charged, etc. JLA

To: Don Hurst who wrote (8431)	12/10/2001 11:54:09 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 93284

Ashcroft Aide Says Criticism Wasn't Aimed at Policy Foes By Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, December 8, 2001; Page A11 Attorney General John D. Ashcroft did not intend in fiery Senate testimony this week to criticize those who have questioned his anti-terrorism policies and was suggesting only that "misstatements of fact" aid the terrorist cause, his spokesman said yesterday. Mindy Tucker, the Justice Department's communications director, said media reports and outside interest groups distorted some of Ashcroft's comments Thursday to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Ashcroft was very clear that he wanted public debate about the actions of the Justice Department," Tucker said in a statement. "What he does not think is helpful to the country is misstatements and the spread of misinformation about the actions of the Justice Department." Tucker also said that media reports "became a part of the exact problem he was describing." In a boldly worded opening statement to the committee, Ashcroft accused some critics of misrepresenting his actions since the Sept. 11 terror attacks and called for "honest, reasoned debate, and not fear-mongering." "To those who pit Americans against immigrants and citizens against noncitizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve," Ashcroft testified. "They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of goodwill to remain silent in the face of evil." The statements provoked outraged newspaper editorials and condemnations from the American Civil Liberties Union and others who have criticized some of the Justice Department's policies. Tucker said Ashcroft was referring only to those who make "misstatements of fact" about Justice policies. Two examples, Tucker said, are those who have used the word "eavesdropping" to describe the monitoring of some attorney-client conversations, and those who have alleged that interviews with more than 5,000 foreign visitors, most of them from the Middle East, amount to racial profiling. In his Senate testimony, Ashcroft also defended his department's decision to bar the FBI from comparing the names of suspected terrorists against federal gun purchase records, saying the action would violate regulations implementing the Brady gun control law. But Justice officials said that they are considering whether to seek a change in the law to allow such comparisons. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who criticized Ashcroft on the issue Thursday, introduced legislation yesterday that would give the FBI the authority to use the National Instant Check System (NICS) for investigative purposes, aides said. In a background briefing yesterday, senior Justice Department and FBI officials said regulations issued by former attorney general Janet Reno clearly forbade the use of gun purchase records for investigations by the FBI. They said the department did not seek a change in the law because it was not viewed as a vital issue. Gun control groups have used the decision to criticize Ashcroft and the Bush administration, noting that they have been extremely aggressive in seeking other new powers to combat terrorism. washingtonpost.com