Original Article Attorney general seeks renewal of Patriot Act Gonzales open to tweaks, hears criticism of law Michelle Mittelstadt Dallas Morning News Apr. 6, 2005 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged Congress on Tuesday to renew all Patriot Act powers that expire at year's end but indicated willingness to tinker with the law. With many lawmakers voicing unease about aspects of a law they hurriedly enacted just weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Congress appears likely to make changes well beyond the tweaks envisioned by the attorney general. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., opened Tuesday's hearing with criticism of some of the law's most contentious provisions. And Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., will introduce a bill Wednesday that would curb some Patriot Act powers and add new checks and balances. Their uncommon alliance has the backing of an odd bedfellows' coalition that runs the gamut from the left-leaning ACLU to the conservative Gun Owners of America. With much of the Patriot Act's use shrouded in secrecy, Gonzales on Tuesday disclosed how some of the most controversial search and surveillance provisions have been used. "Sneak-and-peek" warrants, which allow delayed notification of a search, had been used 155 times through the end of March, he said. The Justice Department has obtained permission on 35 occasions from a special intelligence court to seize records. Though librarians across the nation have been up in arms that the Patriot Act could be used to monitor Americans' reading habits, Gonzales said none of the 35 occasions involved a search for library or bookstore records. Nor were medical or gun sale records sought, he said. The department has availed itself of its greatly expanded roving wiretap authority 49 times. Saying that he hoped the information would "demystify" the Patriot Act, Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller urged renewal of a law they described as essential to national security and the war on terrorism. Sixteen of the law's more than 100 provisions will expire at year's end if not renewed by Congress. "Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups still pose a grave threat to the security of the American people, and now is not the time to relinquish some of our most effective tools in this fight," Gonzales said. But he and Mueller also made clear that the government is using the law in arenas well beyond terrorism, from garden-variety drug busts to other criminal investigations. Though the Bush administration insists there have been no reported Patriot Act abuses, some in Congress are skeptical. "It's been difficult, if not impossible, to verify that claim when some of the most controversial surveillance powers in the act operate under a cloak of secrecy," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Gonzales said his department is willing to modify the Patriot Act to make clear that the subject of a foreign intelligence search warrant can consult a lawyer and challenge the warrant in court. The administration also will seek to broaden the Patriot Act. Mueller renewed a request made by President Bush last year that would allow FBI agents to issue subpoenas on their own authority - without court approval - for business records in the course of terrorism investigations.