arts of the Patriot Act will expire in a couple of months, so the United States Senate is currently working on a bill to re-authorize those parts while simultaneously the Senate Intelligence Committee wants to add a group of what have been deemed new "investigative tools." A further move to endanger civil liberties. Among the proposals is an administrative subpoena which would give the FBI access to any private records about a person. Until now they would require a judge's approval or that of a grand jury. Henceforth the FBI would be able to call a person in and compel them to produce records without any judicial branch approval. There is no know need or use for this power grab. I'd like to ask the FBI chief whether there is any case on record of a deterred national security investigation due to a lack of administrative subpoena power.
In a lead editorial of the New York Times their writers said the following, "The Senate is considering something far more sweeping and dangerous: giving the F.B.I. an open-ended license to invade the privacy of ordinary Americans." They are correct. This proposed subpoena power would apply to anything the F.B.I. claimed was related to alleged foreign intelligence or terrorism.
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