ACLU will get Patriot Act surveillance stats
The US DoJ has agreed to release statistics about the use of Patriot Act surveillance powers, following an ACLU FOI request.
The agreement was reached Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, who is hearing the case growing out of an Aug. 21 request filed under the Freedom of Information Act. The civil liberties group wants to know how the government is carrying out the USA Patriot Act, passed in response to Sept. 11. The new law gives the government new powers to obtain personal information about U.S. citizens in an attempt to stop future terrorist attacks. [...] Justice Department lawyer Anthony Coppolino said the government needed until mid-January because the ACLU request was being reviewed by several agencies. He said the government had produced 163 pages of information, but needed to check with the various agencies, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service, intelligence and the criminal division to see if the information could be released. - AP, U.S. to Release Documents to ACLU.