More of the Same

In May, United States Attorney Chris Christie gave a speech during which he stated that the most controversial aspect of the Patriot Act has never been utilized and citizens should not be fearful of whether their library records are vulnerable to government inspection. The USA Patriot Act allows for the FBI to demand that a public library disclose what patrons have checked out and the library cannot disclose to anyone, including the patron, that the demand has been made. However, what US Attorney Christie did not explain was how it is that if this provision has never been utilized, why is it the FBI has dropped its demand that a Connecticut library produce records regarding computer use by its patrons.

The instant case exposes the flaws in the provision of the USA Patriot Act, which need to be remedied. The FBI demanded that files from a computer be produced as a part of its investigation into alleged terrorist acts. However, after more than a year with the library system refusing to produce the documents, it turns out that the terrorist threat that was being investigated was not a terrorist threat at all. Rather, through other means, the FBI determined that the threat was "not viable."

This determination shows that the FBI does not need to demand these private records from libraries without a warrant if it just uses its other investigative tools and sources to assess the alleged threats. The Patriot Act’s provision which allows for the library records’ warrantless inspect is nothing more than a lazy shortcut that the FBI is trying to use in violation of the privacy rights of the citizens. Considering the majority of the so called leads that the FBI engages in regarding terrorism are false, the FBI’s attempt to use lazy shortcuts for investigation techniques exposes too many people to having their library records inspected needlessly.

The fact that a U.S. Attorney knowingly tells people that we should not be fearful of having our library records inspected pursuant to the library provision of the Patriot Act because this provision has never been utilized is disconcerting. This administration has a habit of lying to the public to serve its political gains, and it loses more credibility each time it is caught in the lies. However, as is typically in any administration, the lower you go on the organizational chart the less likely it is that they will be engaged in the systematic talking points. Despite this, a lowly U.S. Attorney has been schooled in the distortion of the truth process that the White House has engaged in for five years. This not only undermines the credibility of the administration, but also the U.S. Attorney’s office, regardless of who is in office, and law enforcement agencies in general.

These deceptions and lies undermine the veracity of all who have come before and will come afterward, and when tools which may be similar to the library search provision are really necessary and real threats are investigated, no one will allow the inspections because too many times will we have been lied to and deceived by all levels of administrations.