Reading the discussion I see that the amendment calls for inclusion of 'terrorist
activies' into Title III which allows wiretapping under Court order, not anything
about warrantless wiretapping. I did not perform all the text substitutions of the
amemdment itself though. However in the language of the amendment all references that
I read are to activities under court order.
Please indicate the wider circumstances, particularly the warrantless circumstances,
that this amendment allows cybertapping under, for those of us without your time or
acumen in editing the existing Title III language.
You also did not quote this:
"One of the most effective investigative tools at the disposal of law
enforcement agencies is the ability to go to a Federal judge and get
wiretapping authority. It is critical in matters such as this. That is
the ability to intercept oral or electronic conversations involving the
subject of a criminal investigation. The legislative scheme that
provides this authority, and at the same time protects the individual
liberties of American citizens to be secure against unwarranted
government surveillance, is referred to in the criminal code as Title
III. Among the many protections inherent in Title III is that only the
investigations of certain criminal offenses, those judged to be
sufficiently serious to warrant the use of this potent crime-fighting
weapon, are eligible for wiretapping orders. The law lays out a number
of crimes deemed by Congress to be serious enough to warrant allowing
the FBI to intercept electronic and oral communications.
Title III currently allows interception of communications in
connection with the investigation of such crimes as mail fraud, wire
fraud, and the interstate transportation of stolen property.
Inexplicably, however, the Federal terrorism statutes are not
currently included in Title III. I have been complaining about this for
a long time and this is the time to correct it."
>>Text of the Hatch-Feinstein "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001":
>http://www.politechbot.com/docs/cta.091401.html
>
>Discussion of the amendment:
>http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2001/s091301.html
>
>-Declan
>>
>********
>
>http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46852,00.html
>
> Senate OKs FBI Net Spying
> By Declan McCullagh ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
> 12:55 p.m. Sep. 14, 2001 PDT
>
> WASHINGTON -- FBI agents soon may be able to spy on Internet users
> legally without a court order.
>
> On Thursday evening, two days after the worst terrorist attack in U.S.
>> history, the Senate approved the "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001,"
> which enhances police wiretap powers and permits monitoring in more
> situations.
>
> The measure, proposed by Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Dianne Feinstein
> (D-California), says any U.S. attorney or state attorney general can
> order the installation of the FBI's Carnivore surveillance system.
> Previously, there were stiffer restrictions on Carnivore and other
> Internet surveillance techniques.
>
> Its bipartisan sponsors argue that such laws are necessary to thwart
> terrorism. "It is essential that we give our law enforcement
> authorities every possible tool to search out and bring to justice
> those individuals who have brought such indiscriminate death into our
> backyard," Hatch said during the debate on the Senate floor.
>
[...]
