Greater FBI search powers move forward in Congress

Jace Radke and Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003 | 11:11 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators approved a plan Wednesday that would give the FBI greater authority to demand records from casinos and other businesses in terrorism cases.

The bill, which would expand the FBI's counterterrorism powers, was being debated on the floor of the House of Representatives this morning, despite concerns from some lawmakers who said that the measure gave the government too much authority and that the public had been shut out of the debate.

The measure would give the FBI authority to demand records from businesses in terrorism cases without the approval of a judge or a grand jury. While banks, credit unions and other financial institutions are currently subject to such demands, the plan expands the list to include car dealers, pawnbrokers, travel agents, casinos and other businesses.

"This provision has the potential to impact all types of businesses in Southern Nevada, from casinos to travel agents, and it should have been debated before the American public," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said in a statement today. "Law enforcement needs the necessary tools to protect our nation, but we must also respect individual rights and the need for judicial oversight to prevent abuse."

The measure, included in the 2004 authorization bill for intelligence agencies, includes casinos that have a revenue of more than $1 million and any Indian gaming.

"I am not convinced that these expanded powers are necessary, especially given current concerns with the Patriot Act," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. "I think we should take more time to look at this provision before moving forward."

Debate on the final conference report that merged the House and Senate bills started today, with Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., calling for its passage. The final bill is expected to pass the House with a vote tonight and then move to the Senate.

Gibbons was one of the negotiators on the final version of the bill, and his spokeswoman, Amy Spanbuaer, said this morning that Gibbons believes a private individual does not have an expectation of privacy with regard to a third party. She said the new power "is not a great departure from current law."

Currently, the FBI needs a subpoena to search records for casinos, travel agents and other businesses, but the new law would make it an administrative action, expediting the process for investigators. Law enforcement officials said the measure allows the FBI to gain greater speed and flexibility in tracing suspected terrorist money.

Critics of the powers already allocated to authorities by the Patriot Act said the measure is troubling.

"It is certainly disheartening that Congress may be moving in exactly the wrong direction after learning about the ways the Patriot Act has been used to pry into the lives of people who have nothing to do with terrorism," said Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

Peck added that terms like terrorism are "exceedingly elastic and can be stretched to cover almost anything when there is no judicial oversight."

FBI officials in Las Vegas recently confirmed that the Patriot Act was used to seek the financial records of current and former politicians in what sources said was a part of an ongoing political corruption investigation and not a counterterrorism case.

Officials with the casino industry's federal lobbying arm believe the proposed rules could give law enforcement agencies greater access to private financial information such as customer gambling records.

"We want to do everything we can to protect the security of this nation, but we are concerned" about the scope of the bill, said Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association.

Reid and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., are "on top of this" to ensure that the legislation wouldn't tread on customer privacy, Fahrenkopf said.

Officials with MGM-MIRAGE and Harrah's referred questions to the American Gaming Association, and calls to Park Place Entertainment and the Nevada Resort Association were not immediately returned. MGM-MIRAGE, Harrah's and other casino operators follow strict confidentiality guidelines to protect the privacy of their guests.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., said he introduced a motion to limit the life span of the new law but was defeated on a party-line vote.

"I'm concerned about this," Durbin said. "The idea of expanding the powers of government gives everyone pause except the Republican leadership."

Spanbauer said Gibbons did not have the opportunity to vote on Durbin's amendment to strip the language since it was offered only in the Senate. The measure was in both the House and Senate bills, Spanbauer said.

The approval came despite 11th-hour concerns raised by five Democrats and a Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who questioned why their panel -- which has responsibility for overseeing the FBI -- was shut out of any discussion on the little-noticed proposal.

In a letter this week to the Senate Intelligence Committee, the senators urged the panel, which does much of its work in secret, not to move ahead with such a significant expansion of the FBI's powers without further review. The senators said public hearings, public debate and legislative protocol were essential in legislation involving the privacy rights of Americans.

The letter was signed by Sen. Larry E. Craig, R-Idaho, and five Democrats: Durbin, and Sens. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, and John Edwards of North Carolina.