Common Threads

The last week revealed some events with a common thread. While there was some coverage of these events, they were overshadowed by the Scooter Libby verdict.

There was the revelation that the FBI violated the law in its use of "National Security Letters", provided for under the USA PATRIOT Act. Hundreds of thousands of Americans phone records, bank records, e-mail transactions and medical records were the subject of fishing expeditions. The FBI attributed this to sloppy record keeping, and poorly trained personnel. Given that many of these NSL's were issued after the fact, to cover illegal records demands...Illegal even under the loose requirements for probable cause under the PATRIOT Act. The FBI's pleas of incompetence and faulty equipment are simply not credible.

It also came to light that a number of US attorneys, eight to be exact, were sacked and replaced by the DoJ under an obscure provision of the revised PATRIOT Act. This provision allows federal attorneys to be appointed to fill vacancies for an unlimited period, and without going through the Congressional confirmation process. The Arkansas attorney was replaced by a former aid of Karl Rove. Another attorney received phone calls from a House member and a Senator about sealed indictments related to democrats in New Mexico. The Senator has since lawyered up and refusing to comment on the matter.

The common thread, of course, is abuse of power. The abuse of power under the PATRIOT Act, the abuse of power that critics of the Act warned about from the day the Act was signed into law. The abuse of power by an administration intent on concentrating power in the hands of the executive branch and acting as if it, and its members, are above the law.

Seig heil, y'all.