It Goes Wider
As further proof that the Bush administration considers the American people to be subjects, not citizens with unalienable rights, read this article from the Washington Post about how the U.S. Justice Department has censored a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on an ACLU challenge to the so called Patriot Act.
It seems even legal challenges to the Act are illegal to publish about as the ACLU found out when it announced its challenge.
The dispute over the ACLU's April 28 news release centered on two paragraphs. The first laid out the court's schedule for receiving legal briefs and noted the name of the New York-based judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.
The second paragraph read: "The provision under challenge allows an FBI agent to write a letter demanding the disclosure of the name, screen names, addresses, e-mail header information, and other sensitive information held by 'electronic communication service providers.' "
Justice lawyers said that both paragraphs violated a secrecy order and that the ACLU should be required to seek an exemption to publicize the information, court records show. Justice spokesman Charles Miller declined to comment yesterday.