From the Radio Free Michigan archives ftp://141.209.3.26/pub/patriot If you have any other files you'd like to contribute, e-mail them to bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu. ------------------------------------------------ Read this re-post, and tremble - then get writing, faxing and calling! Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 12:54:15 -0800 From: Kit Gage Subject: Omnibus Counterterrorism Bill FROM: Kit Gage, NCARL (National Committee Against Repressive Legislation). I am lobbyist and writer for this civil liberties group. Interested activists: March 7, 1995 Many of you have asked me for more information about the Omnibus Counterterrorism Bill. Please excuse my group response. Some of you only got part of my memo, so I am including the whole 1 1/2 pages of the summary. COALITION: There is an activist coalition which is spreading information about the bill, helping coordinate the fight against it. To get on the mailing list, contact: Greg Nojeim, Legislative Counsel, ACLU, 122 Maryland Ave., NE, Washington DC 20002. I am including here the text of a sign-on letter we are putting together. Please send signed copies to the ACLU or fax to Kit Gage, NCARL at 202-526-4611. LONGER SUMMARIES: Are available from David Cole, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, New Jersey at Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington DC 20001; and from Jim Dempsey at the Center for National Security Studies, Gelman Library, Suite 701, 2130 H St., NW, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037. THE TEXT OF THE BILL: It is about 100 pp printed, 156,000 bytes. You can snail mail it from Senate (or House) Document Room, U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510. E mail from the government requires some straightening out. Thomas at the Library of Congress has mistitled the bill "Marking of Plastic Explosive for Detection Act." I have emailed them to correct it, but the text is correct as it is now available. On mosaic, get on Thomas. Also http://thomas.loc.gov. ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/c104. JUST TO CLARIFY: This is a bill, not a law yet. It has been introduced and referred to the Judiciary committees. Hearings in the House Judiciary Committee are expected about the end of March. After that the full committee of each house would have to report the bill out, and then the bills could be considered on the Floor of each body and passed, awaiting the President's confirming signature. Through the whole process, we all can give our opinions to our Representatives and Senators and/or to Judiciary Committee members of the Senate and House and of course to the President, who asked for the bill to be introduced in the first place, at the request of the FBI. Omnibus Counterterrorism Bill S. 390 and H.R. 896 New FBI Charter to Investigate Political Groups February 10, 1995 the Omnibus Counterterrorism Bill was introduced as S. 390 into the Senate and as H.R. 896 in the House. It was initiated by the FBI, and passed on by the Justice Department and the White House. Senators Biden (D-DE) and Specter (R- PA) initiated it in the Senate, Rep. Schumer (D-NY) and Dicks (D-WA) in the House. It has bipartisan support and could get expedited action. SUMMARY * THIS IS A GENERAL CHARTER FOR THE FBI AND OTHER AGENCIES, INCLUDING THE MILITARY, TO INVESTIGATE POLITICAL GROUPS AND CAUSES AT WILL. The bill is a wide-ranging federalization of different kinds of actions applying to both citizens and non-citizens. The range includes acts of violence (attempts, threats and conspiracies) as well as giving funds for humanitarian, legal activity. * It would allow up to 10 year sentences for citizens and deportation for permanent resident non-citizens for the "crime" of supporting the lawful activities of an organization the President declares to be "terrorist", as the African National Congress, FMLN in El Salvador, IRA in Northern Ireland, and PLO have been labelled. It broadens the definition of terrorism. The President's determination of who is a terrorist is unappealable, and specifically can include groups regardless of any legitimate activity they might pursue. * It authorizes secret trials for immigrants who are not charged with a crime but rather who are accused of supporting lawful activity by organizations which have also been accused of committing illegal acts. Immigrants could be deported: 1) using evidence they or their lawyers would never see, 2) in secret proceedings 3) with one sided appeals 4) using illegally obtained evidence. * It suspends posse comitatus - allowing the use of the military to aid the police regardless of other laws. * It reverses the presumption of innocence - the accused is presumed ineligible for bail and can be detained until trial. * It loosens the rules for wiretaps. It would prohibit probation as a punishment under the act - even for minor nonviolent offenses. IMPLICATIONS * Those who remember the McCarran Walter Act will recognize this bill, only in some ways this is broader and potentially more dangerous * This bill is highly political: the President can determine who is a terrorist and change his/her mind at will and even for economic reasons. The breadth of its coverage would make it impossible for the government to prosecute every case of humanitarian assistance to groups around the world that have made or threatened to commit violent acts of any sort. Necessarily its choices would be targeted at organizations the government found currently offensive. People to be deported would be chosen specifically because of their political associations and beliefs. * The new federal crime: international terrorism doesn't cover anything that is not already a crime. As the Center for National Security Studies notes: "Since the new offense does not cover anything that is not already a crime, the main purpose of the proposal seems to be to avoid certain constitutional and statutory protections that would otherwise apply." * While many provisions of this bill could well be found unconstitutional after years of litigation, in the mean time the damage could be enormous to the First Amendment and other constitutional rights including presumption of innocence and right to bail. THE BILL HAS BEEN REFERRED TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEES OF EACH HOUSE. ONLY THE NEW YORK TIMES HAS AS YET NOTICED THE BILL - A 2/24/95 ANTHONY LEWIS COLUMN. OTHER PAPERS SHOULD BE ALERTED. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Kit Gage, Washington Liaison, National Lawyers Guild, and Wash. Rep. NCARL 3321-12th St., NE, Washington DC 20017 202-529-4225, fax 202-526-4611, e-mail: kgage@igc.apc.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - We, the undersigned organizations and individuals urge you to oppose the unconstitutional portions of the Omnibus Counterterrorism Act of 1995, introduced in Congress as S.390 and H.R. 896. The Act would resurrect the notion of guilt by association in the context of criminal trials and immigration proceedings. U.S. citizens and aliens in the United States should not be penalized for supporting the legal, non- violent, charitable and educational activities of the organizations they choose to support. Aliens have the right to see and challenge any evidence that would be used against them in a deportation proceeding. The government should not have the power to deport or bar aliens from the United States simply by declaring them representatives of organizations detrimental to the interests of the U.S. Other provisions of the bill also raise constitutional concerns. Sincerely, [names of endorsing organizations] Signify your organization's desire to sign on to this letter of concern by completing the information below: ___________________________________ ______________________ PRINT NAME OF ORGANIZATION DATE ___________________________________ ______________________ PRINT YOUR NAME AND TITLE YOUR SIGNATURE * _____ Mark here only if organization is to be mentioned just for purposes of identification. We prefer that people not mark this box so that we can show as many organization endorsements as possible. Please mail or fax this completed form by March 15 to: Gregory T. Nojeim American Civil Liberties Union 122 Maryland Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002 FAX: 202-526-0738 ------------------------------------------------ (This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the Radio Free Michigan archives by the archive maintainer. All files are ZIP archives for fast download. E-mail bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu)