Pubdate: Mon, 03 Dec 2001
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Jess Bravin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?203 (Terrorism)

SPECIAL REPORT: AFTERMATH OF TERROR JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WEIGHS 
STEPPING UP MONITORING OF RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL GROUPS

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is looking to step up monitoring 
of political and religious groups within the U.S. and to further ease 
the restrictions on electronic surveillance of those it believes are 
linked to terrorism.

Meanwhile, Bush administration officials, acknowledging they were 
taken aback by the criticism leveled at the president's plan to try 
foreign terrorism suspects in military courts, said legal and other 
questions raised by lawmakers and academics are being considered as 
work is done to implement the plan.

White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales said he was surprised "at the 
reaction to the military order," and he went further than other 
administration officials have in limiting those to whom it might 
apply.

President Bush's Nov. 13 order could apply to any noncitizen he 
designates as a terror suspect, potentially including nearly 18 
million U.S. residents. It permits those he designates to be tried 
using secret evidence and convicted by a two-thirds vote of military 
judges, and bars them from seeking "any remedy" in any civilian court.

The order's broad scope brought criticism from many quarters, 
including not only Democrats but some Republicans as well. But "fears 
that military commissions will be used to try green-card holders 
living in the United States for ordinary civilian crimes are totally 
unfounded," Mr. Gonzales told a meeting of the American Bar 
Association's national-security law committee on Friday. Speculation 
that drug traffickers may be candidates for military trial was 
"far-fetched," he said. And, despite the order's language, Mr. 
Gonzales said, any suspect with the ability to claim coverage of the 
U.S. courts (for example, as a resident alien) would be able to 
challenge a tribunal's jurisdiction through a habeas corpus 
proceeding in federal court.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, whose staff is drafting the rules 
to put the president's plan into effect, said there may not be a 
single set of procedures, but different ones drafted for each case. 
"It may vary, depending on individuals," he said at a news conference.

Mr. Rumsfeld said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Pentagon 
lawyers are consulting with outside legal experts on the tribunal 
matter and that public debate has "elevated a lot of issues that are 
important and need to be considered." He didn't identify the 
consultants, but said they were brought in to ensure "that we do 
this, in the event it happens, in a very measured, balanced, 
thoughtful way that reflects our country's values and approaches."

The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue hearings on the tribunal 
plan this week, including scheduled testimony from Attorney General 
John Ashcroft. The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to hold 
hearings on the matter next week.

While some administration officials were trying to rein in fears 
about military tribunals, the Justice Department said it is studying 
proposals to expand monitoring of religious and political groups and 
to loosen restrictions on wiretaps.

After disclosures that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had 
infiltrated antiwar and civil-rights groups during the 1960s, the 
Justice Department adopted regulations requiring agents to show 
probable cause that a crime was afoot before spying on political or 
religious organizations.

Agency spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said Sunday that officials are 
considering relaxing that standard as part of the "wartime 
reorganization and mobilization" that Mr. Ashcroft announced last 
month. Many local police departments have had similar rules in place, 
but began to reconsider them following the Sept. 11 attacks. Sunday 
Mr. Ashcroft endorsed such a change for federal authorities. "If a 
religion is hijacked and used as a cover for killing thousands of 
Americans, we're interested in that," he said on ABC's "This Week." A 
department official said the proposal has been under study since 
September.

Ms. Tucker also said Justice is considering seeking a change in the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The change would delete the 
requirement that investigators show terrorist suspects are linked to 
a foreign power or international terrorist group.

The proposal was contained in a memo prepared at the request of the 
House and Senate intelligence committees, Ms. Tucker said.

A Senate Democratic aide said the congressional committees had only 
asked for "technical corrections, like typos," in legislation and 
that such a major change in the surveillance act "won't go anywhere."
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