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CNN Live At Daybreak

Congress Passes Anti-Terrorism Legislation

Aired October 26, 2001 - 06:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HARRIS: Now meanwhile speaking of what's happening here in the states, at the White House later on this morning, President Bush is going to sign into law some sweeping anti-terrorism legislation.

CNN's Jonathan Karl reports that the Justice Department says that federal agents are ready to immediately implement their expanded authority.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED SENATOR: The ayes are 98; the nays are one.

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After six weeks of debate, the Senate overwhelmingly voted to give the attorney general broad new powers to track down terrorists. Powers, he says he'll use as soon as the president signs the bill into law.

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: A new era in America's fight against terrorism, made tragically necessary by the attacks of September 11th - is about to begin.

KARL: The bill gives law enforcement expanded authority to tap telephones, including voice mail messages, and more power to track Internet activity making it much easier, for example, to find out what web sites a suspect is viewing. The bill also gives the attorney general the power to detain non-citizens for seven days without charging them and allows prosecutors to share secret grand jury information with intelligence officials.

So would any of these powers have helped prevent the September 11th attacks?

UNIDENTIFIED SENATOR: No, a simple answer.

KARL: But standing on the same stage, the main Republican co- sponsor of the bill disagreed.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH, (R), Utah: Well, I have a different point of view. And that point of view is this - that had we been able to share information between intelligence agencies of our government and law enforcement, we may have very well had been able to have prevented this.

KARL: That's a claim not even the Justice Department makes, instead arguing the bill would help prevent future terrorist acts.

VIET DINH, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: The need for these tools and new authorities is immediate and they -- the passage of this legislation will enhance our ability to conduct on-going investigations and to prevent future terrorist incidents.

KARL: The lone dissenter was Democrat Russ Feingold, who argued the bill would be strict civil liberties and not just of suspected terrorists.

SEN. RUSSELL FEINGOLD, (D), Wis.: Much of it, unfortunately, does get into areas of legitimate computer usage. It gets into medical and educational records - not of a terrorist suspect, but of people that might have had some casual contact with the person; not with a search warrant, but simply on the say-so of the attorney general.

KARL: Several other senators shared Russ Feingold's concern that these new powers could be abused by law enforcement, but those senators were won over by a so-called sunset provision. It means that much of this law would expire in four years unless the Congress votes to reauthorize it.

Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.

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