Peek-a-boo, I see you! Sounds like child’s play, right? Well, you’re dead wrong.
Actually, it’s our executive branch playing these games, but on a much grander, scarier scale. And nearly every member of Congress has kowtowed to the executive branch, failing to question whether this game is necessary to keep our country safe.
What game, you ask? It’s called “sneak-and-peek,” and it’s not quite as fun or thrilling as it sounds.
“Sneak-and-peek” search warrants allow law enforcement officials to break into our homes and businesses and search them without us knowing, all in the name of “national security.”
“Sneak-and-peek” is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment and years of related Supreme Court cases, which require either a search warrant from a magistrate or probable cause before law enforcement officials are permitted to perform a search and seizure and make an arrest. “Sneak-and-peek” skips that process altogether. This provision is found hidden within the 1,000-plus page, overly burdensome USA PATRIOT Act.
A quick history lesson: as most of you probably know, the USA PATRIOT Act is a major piece of legislation pummeled out rapidly in the midst of post-9/11 hysteria, a mere month after the attacks. The act was written and brought to the House floor by one of Wisconsin’s own: Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner. In the Senate, the USA PATRIOT Act was passed nearly unanimously. The key word: “nearly.”
One man stood up, though, and said (more eloquently), “Hell no!” Among a pack of cowards failing to take the time to read the bill carefully and see just how clearly unconstitutional it was, one brave man stood strong: Wisconsin’s proudest progressive, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis. [Full Disclosure: Steve Horn worked previously as an intern for Sen. Feingold.]
Continuing his tradition of being one of the few senators consistently willing to stand up for his conscience and refuse to play the game of partisan politics, Feingold has rightfully stood strong against the reauthorization of this same shameful USA PATRIOT Act still in play eight years later but set to expire on Dec. 31. For Feingold, it’s never a question of left versus right, but rather right versus wrong. Feingold has indeed lashed out against the aforementioned “sneak-and-peek” search warrant provision.
On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Reauthorizing the USA PATRIOT Act: Ensuring Liberty and Security.” The most controversial conversation of the day took place between Assistant U.S. Attorney General David Kris and, you guessed it, Sen. Feingold. The brouhaha centered on “sneak-and-peek.”
Citing a July 2009 report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Feingold asked Kris to respond to the fact that only three of the 763 “sneak-and-peek” requests in the 2008 fiscal year were related to terrorism. Fear of terrorism is, of course, the onlyrationale for this provision of the USA PATRIOT Act.
Kris’ response? “This authority here on the sneak-and-peek side, on the criminal side, is not meant for intelligence. It’s for criminal cases. So I guess it’s not surprising to me that it applies in drug cases,” Kris said in typical Orwellian Doublethink, completely ignoring the question Feingold asked him.
Lo-and-behold, Feingold wasn’t satisfied with the half-assed answer and shot back: “As I recall, it was in something called the USA PATRIOT Act, which was passed in a rush after an attack on 9/11 that had to do with terrorism, … (not) with regular, run-of-the-mill criminal cases. … It’s quite extraordinary to grant government agents the … authority to secretly break into Americans’ homes.”
As exemplified by “sneak-and-peak” warrants, the USA PATRIOT Act has proven itself overreaching, more typical of Big Brother government than a constitutional republic which should be upholding civil liberties and avoiding constitutional disaster.
So be thankful that in Wisconsin, we have Feingold representing us in Washington, D.C. Politicians like him are not exactly a dime-a-dozen. He has taken it upon himself to stand up and fight for what’s right, even when difficult and unpopular among his dastardly peers in the U.S. Senate.
As the American Civil Liberties Union famous espouses — “Freedom can’t protect itself” — someone has to do it: Feingold, as usual, has stepped up to the plate. Let’s hope he kills the illegal “sneak-and-peek” provision of the USA PATRIOT Act dead in its tracks.
Steve Horn ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science and legal studies.
