this scandal has the potential to turn the country against Ashcroft's gestapo tactics, especially the "sneak and peek" in the Patriot Act, and the material witness provision.
They need to remind us to be as scared as we were after Sept. 11.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/8733548.htm?1c
CHICAGO - (KRT) - The release last week of an Oregon attorney held two weeks by federal authorities without being charged with a crime has raised new questions about the controversial statute used to detain him.
The Justice Department has portrayed the material witness statute as a powerful tool in the war against terrorism, giving authorities the right to jail suspects who they say might otherwise flee the country and allowing investigators valuable time to gather evidence.
But civil rights groups say authorities have abused the statute, jailing people without evidence, violating civil liberties and bending the statute in ways that critics say it was never intended.
The case of Brandon Mayfield, who was arrested in connection with the Madrid bombing and freed Thursday after a fingerprint attributed to him was matched to another suspect, is a classic example, civil rights advocates say.
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