From the Vault: The Beginning of the Patriot Act

As Congress debates parts of the PATRIOT Act that expired this week, we glance again within the Washington Week Vault to the day President George W. Bush signed the invoice into legislation in 2001. The nation, simply weeks after the September 11 assaults, was on the lookout for info to trace down the terrorists answerable for the assault. NPR’s Barbara Bradley defined why then-Legal professional Normal John Ashcroft supported the legislation. The PATRIOT Act will permit legislation enforcement “to hint electronic mail messages from place to put, making it simpler to surveil individuals for intelligence functions,” she stated. Over a decade later, the parts of the PATRIOT Act that permit for bulk assortment of telephone metadata are on the middle of the talk about how a lot knowledge the federal government ought to have.

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