Ashcroft defends search of library records

FCW.com Is Reporting Attorney General John Ashcroft defended the Justice Department’s search of library records under the USA Patriot Act, telling lawmakers the process safeguards individual privacy.


Lawmakers expressed concern that officials conducting electronic surveillance for intelligence purposes under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was reformed under the Patriot Act, have too much power and may be encroaching on civil liberties.