Another Nail In Patriot's Coffin

For all of you out there who are as sick of seeing Republicans act honest and honorably and get shafted for it to the detriment of national security, do yourselves a favor and scroll down to a different post:

The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left open the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against FBI agents or lawyers who improperly used the USA Patriot Act in pursuit of suspected terrorists and spies.

Wow, that sounds pretty damning, doesn't it? But as those of you who are gluttons for punishment have probably already intuited, the narrative grows more and more innocuous the deeper you get into the story:

The FBI's transgressions were spelled out in a damning 126-page audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. He found that agents sometimes demanded personal data on people without official authorization, and in other cases improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances.

The audit also concluded that the FBI for three years underreported to Congress how often it used national security letters to ask businesses to turn over customer data. The letters are administrative subpoenas that do not require a judge's approval.

So, was this a deliberate plot to wreak a police state upon the good ol' US of A? Are we languishing under a reign of Gestopo/KGB terror?

Well, leaving aside that neither of those "police agencies" had inspector-generals as we commonly understand the term, the causes of these "improprieties" were a bit more innocent than the ASSociated Press lede suggests:

Shoddy record-keeping and human error were to blame for the bulk of the problems, said Justice auditors, who were careful to note they found no indication of criminal misconduct. [emphasis added]

Judging by the groveling rhetoric of A-G Gonzales and Direct Mueller, you'd never have guessed that little detail, wouldja? Indeed, Mueller sounded like he was practically begging for clemency:

"But the question should and must be asked: How could this happen? Who is accountable?" Mueller said. "And the answer to that is, I am to be held accountable."

In an honorable Beltway, this comment would have been universally and bipartisanly hailed and praised. In the Beltway we actually have, it was akin to dumping a truckload of red meat in front of Ron Artest's pit bulls and dobermans (and their GOP poodles):

The audit incensed lawmakers in Congress already seething over the recent dismissals of eight U.S. attorneys. Democrats who lead House and Senate judiciary and intelligence oversight panels promised hearings on the findings. Several lawmakers - Republicans and Democrats alike - raised the possibility of scaling back the FBI's authority.

"It's up to Congress to end these abuses as soon as possible," said Senator Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The Patriot Act was never intended to allow the Bush Administration to violate fundamental constitutional rights."

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just wait a few years when President Rodham is setting up the Alaska Gulag, and then see how robust Uncle Teddy's reverence for "fundamental constitutional rights" is - assuming his liver holds out that long.

Sorry, I digress....

Representative Pete Hoekstra, top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the audit shows "a major failure by Justice to uphold the law."

"If the Justice Department is going to enforce the law, it must follow it as well," said Hoekstra, of Michigan.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the audit proves Congress must amend the Patriot Act to require judicial approval anytime the FBI wants access to sensitive personal information.

"The attorney general and the FBI are part of the problem, and they cannot be trusted to be part of the solution," said ACLU's executive director, Anthony D. Romero.

Here we go. Gut the Patriot Act, hamstring law enforcement and counter-terror operations, and leave us naked to fresh Islamist terror attacks. As if three thousand dead American civilians in the space of less than two hours on a single September morning weren't sufficient. Maybe next time it'll be thirty thousand, or three hundred thousand. And then a heavy iron chain really will have to descend.

Frak "fundamental constitutional rights," we know what the Donks are REALLY interested in, don't we?:

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should resign following disclosures of mass firings of federal prosecutors and a report the FBI improperly obtained information on private citizens, top Democratic senators said on Sunday....

"I think we need a change in the top at the Justice Department," said Senator Charles Schumer of New York, a member of the Democratic leadership.

Senator Joseph Biden, a Delaware Democrat and a 2008 White House contender, said, "I think we'd be better off if he did (resign), but that's a judgment the President is going to have to make."

Never let it be said that the Democrats EVER let an opportunity to bag another GOP scalp pass them by. Just don't EVER let their ersatz devotion to civil liberties (well, maybe just for themselves....) go unchallenged. Even if nobody listens to the center-right anymore.

Actually, I wouldn't have too big a problem with Speedy's departure - if Dubya brought back John Ashcroft. Or G. Gordon Liddy, if he was willing to take a sabbatical from his radio program. Or Mark Levin.

Given that Bush would turn around and put the pro-abortion Gonzales on the SCOTUS, it'd be the least he could do....