[iwar] [fc:FBI.Terror.Detentions.Questioned]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-10-30 17:33:24
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 17:33:24 -0800 (PST)
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Subject: [iwar] [fc:FBI.Terror.Detentions.Questioned]
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FBI Terror Detentions Questioned
By Declan McCullagh and Ben Polen

2:00 a.m. Oct. 30, 2001 PST

WASHINGTON -- Civil liberties groups are demanding that the U.S. government
disclose information about hundreds of people who have been detained after
the Sep. 11 attacks.

At a press conference on Capitol Hill on Monday, the groups said it's time
for the Justice Department to provide at least some details on the
continuing investigation, such as how many people are detained, who has been
charged with terrorism, and whether they've had access to attorneys.

Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said:
"While certain aspects of the FBI investigation into the terrorist attacks
need to be secret, we do not live in a country where the government can keep
secret who they arrest, where they are being held, or the charges against
them." 

Martin wrote a request under the Freedom of Information Act signed by 21
groups and sent to the Justice Department on Monday. It requests the names
of anyone detained in relation with a terrorist investigation, information
about what judges have handed down secrecy orders, and government policies
that deal with withholding information from the public.

Earlier this month, Attorney General John Ashcroft snubbed journalists and
public interest groups in a memo, saying that the Bush administration would
defend federal agencies' decisions to withhold records if they had any
"sound legal basis" for doing so.

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that of the approximately 977 people
detained, some were nabbed by FBI agents after making phone calls applauding
the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

So far, Ashcroft has not responded to repeated requests for information. On
Oct. 17, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the attorney
general asking for information on the detainees, but he did not reply.

On Friday, ACLU representatives met with FBI director Robert Mueller -- but
had no better luck. ACLU lobbyist Greg Nojeim said: "I don't think we've
been given a reason (for the detainments). We didn't get a response from the
attorney general or the FBI."

The people in jail appear to be there for two reasons: violations of
immigration status or material witness warrants. Both permit long periods of
detention with minimal public oversight, and the anti-terrorism law that
President Bush signed last week extends police powers in this area.

The Department of Justice is citing a federal judge's order to seal warrants
dealing with material witnesses.

Justice Department spokesman Dan Nelson said: "There are privacy guidelines
that preclude us from releasing immigration information, that could
reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy. The material witness warrants are grand jury information and are
under seal." 

That explanation didn't satisfy the Center for National Security Studies.

Morton Halperin, an attorney for the group, said: "There is a right to know
who was arrested and it certainly contains people who were arrested under
the rubric of material witness warrants.... If they're under seal then what
we've asked for is the evidence of the order of the sealing. If they're
under seal it's because the government asked them to be, and the question is
what was the basis for that."

Halperin said his group and others are willing to argue their Freedom of
Information Act request before a federal judge if the government refuses.

Material witness warrants typically permit the arrest of someone who may
have valuable information about a crime. A federal judge can order such
warrants if a prosecutor shows the person poses a serious flight risk. Once
material witnesses are arrested, they are entitled to a judicial hearing
within 48 hours and can then be jailed until they testify.

The Center for National Security Studies' Martin said: "Material witnesses
are entitled to counsel and some kind of a judicial hearing. We are not sure
how long they can keep them in custody. This is a little-used area of the
law." 

The extraordinary public attention focused on this investigation has
increased pressure on police to produce results. David Cole, a Georgetown
University law professor who is representing the Center for Constitutional
Rights, said: "No doubt pressure exists on law enforcement to be
over-inclusive in this time."

Noting that the government's actions were not unprecedented, Cole pointed to
the Palmer Raids of 1919, in which the politically motivated bombing of
then-Attorney General Mitchell Palmer's house precipitated aggressive police
action against immigrants, leading to the arrest of 6,000 people and the
deportation of 500.

"Maybe, as Ashcroft said, the FBI is following the letter of the law," Cole
said. "We can't be sure unless we can see for ourselves."

In making their requests to the government, the groups conceded that some
information could be protected as marked under "confidential," but argued
that an overwhelming amount of information should be released.

Besides the ACLU, other organizations that have signed onto the FOIA request
include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy
Information Center, the Arab American Institute and the Arab-American
Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The groups say they expect an answer from the Justice Department by the end
of the week. 

At a press conference on Monday, Ashcroft said he had received credible
information about terrorist attacks in the near future.

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