Patriot Act

aka U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001

The U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001 was enacted by Congress in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. Also referred to as the Patriot Act, it was passed in the Senate by a vote of 98-1 and in the House of Representatives by 357-66. U.S.A. Patriot is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.”

In his remarks on signing the Patriot Act, President Bush called the act “an essential step in defeating terrorism, while protecting the constitutional rights of American citizens,” and said the act gives “intelligence and law enforcement officials important new tools to fight a present danger.” Generally speaking, the act is a complex statute covering a wide range of laws. It creates new crimes, new penalties, and contains many provisions enabling U.S. government and law enforcement agencies to better coordinate their information exchange and working procedures. The Patriot Act is divided into 10 sections called “titles” and contains hundreds of individual changes in U.S. law. The titles indicate the scope of the act:

• 1.
  Enhancing Domestic Security Against Terrorism
• 2.
  Enhanced Surveillance Procedures
• 3.
  International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act of 2001
• 4.
  Protecting the Border
• 5.
  Removing Obstacles to Investigating Terrorism
• 6.
  Providing for Victims of Terrorism, Public Safety Officers, and Their Families
• 7.
  Increased Information Sharing for Critical Infrastructure Protection
• 8.
  Strengthening the Criminal Laws Against Terrorism
• 9.
  Improved Intelligence
• 10.
  Miscellaneous

The act contains several key provisions that enhance governmental counterterrorism efforts. For example, the act authorizes the president to freeze assets under U.S. jurisdiction of any person, organization, or country, when U.S. national security is threatened. The act authorizes federal officers who acquire foreign intelligence information to consult with other federal law enforcement officers and encourages federal intelligence officials to “establish and maintain intelligence relationships” with anyone “for the purpose of engaging in lawful intelligence activities.” Similarly, the Patriot Act requires heads of federal law enforcement agencies to disclose foreign intelligence information obtained in the course of a criminal investigation to the director of central intelligence. The Patriot Act has also had significant impact in the area of criminal law and procedure, anti-money laundering measures, and immigration policy. In the area of criminal law, the act prohibits terrorist attacks against mass transportation systems and harboring terrorists; gives the United States jurisdiction over crime committed at U.S. facilities abroad; considers terrorism “racketeering activity” so it can be prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. Additionally, it creates penalties for terrorist conspiracies such as attempting to provide material support for terrorism and punishes knowing possession of a biological agent that is not for research of other peaceful purpose with fines and/or imprisonment.

With regard to criminal procedures, the Patriot Act allows the sharing of grand jury information regarding foreign intelligence with federal government and law enforcement officials. It also allows for roving wiretaps under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the seizure of voice mail messages pursuant to a search warrant (instead of under wiretapping procedures), for law enforcement to subpoena additional subscriber records from service providers (contact and payment information) and for law enforcement to delay notice that may be required to given of a search warrant if a “court finds reasonable cause to believe” that providing that notice may adversely affect the search.

The act also expands U.S. money laws. Securities brokers and dealers now have to file Suspicious Activities Reports with the Treasury Department; prior to the act this was required only of bankers. U.S. anti-money laundering laws are now applicable to credit unions as well as individuals or “any network of people” who facilitate the transfer of money “outside the conventional financial institutions systems.” The act prohibits establishing a “correspondent account” in the [Page 288]United States for a foreign “shell bank,” a bank without a physical presence and “currency smuggling,” the transport of more than $10,000 into or out of the United States. The Patriot Act also requires financial institutions to obtain more detailed background information on their clients and to compare names of potential clients with the names on terrorist or suspected terrorist lists provided by the U.S. government.

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