Justice Dept. Lists Use of New Power to Fight Terror

Jen Young noticed A NYTimes Article that says agents have contacted about 50 libraries nationwide in the course of terrorism investigations, often at the invitation of librarians who saw something suspicious, said Viet Dinh, an assistant attorney general who briefed members of the House Judiciary Committee on the findings at a hearing today.


Librarians, concerned about the government\’s ability to pry into the public\’s reading habits, have said they believe libraries have been contacted much more frequently.

See also, CBSNews.

\”We\’ve had so much erroneous hysteria out there about our counter-terrorism authority and how it\’s used,\” said a spokeswoman for the department, Barbara Comstock. \”What this demonstrates is that these tools have been very carefully targeted, and when we do use them, it\’s because there are valid reasons that often involve life and death.\”

Yeah, Ryan beat me to it, but I like my quote in this one, so it\’s staying.