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Oct. 30, 2001
Feingold to Back Human Rights Request
By Melanie Fonder
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A broad coalition of human rights organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Council on Arab-American Relations (CAIR) sent a letter to the Justice Department Monday demanding information on the hundreds of people arrested in the investigation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Coalition members said they received confirmation that U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., would support their request as well as seek additional support from members of Congress. Feingold, who was the lone dissenter in the Senate on the anti-terrorism measure that was signed into law Friday by President Bush, is expected to send a letter to the Justice Department sometime this week outlining his specific concerns.
Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the coalition is asking for the identities of the detainees, who their lawyers are and where they are being detained to ensure the government is acting within the law.
"We do not believe that any of the requested information is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act," the letter said. "We do not believe that the requested information properly could be classified for national security reasons and withheld on that ground. Nevertheless, to the extent that any of this information is marked classified, we request that you delete or redact such information and immediately provide us the remaining information."
Citing a constitutional and common law right of access, the groups also sought an expedited response to their request, saying that, "unprecedented secrecy surrounding the detention of several hundred individuals, which has now lasted for several weeks, in itself raises questions about the detentions and creates the utmost urgency to inform the public. The curtain of official silence prevents any democratic oversight of the government's response to the attacks."
--How Wis. Dem Reps. Lined up in Whip's Race--
Wisconsin Democrats were divided when House Democrats made history three weeks ago, electing Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as their second-in-command.
In a 118-95 victory, Pelosi became the Democratic Whip over Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., making her the highest-ranking woman in the House ever.
Reps. David Obey and Tammy Baldwin both backed the victorious candidate. But Reps. Ron Kind and Gerald Kleczka both backed Hoyer.
Rep. Tom Barrett, D-Milwaukee, who is also running for governor next year, kept his vote secret throughout the three-year behind-the-scenes race and still declined to say who he voted for last week.
But sources said they believed Barrett had voted for Pelosi because he aligns most closely with her liberal philosophy - and because of Obey's status as dean of the Wisconsin delegation. They also suggest that he kept his ballot secret because he sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee with ranking minority member Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who was one of Hoyer's key backers in the tight contest.
--Anthrax Update--
Of nine Wisconsin members, five have their offices located in the Longworth House Office Building where traces of anthrax were detected in three offices. Reps. Mark Green, Paul Ryan, Barrett, Baldwin and Kind are all tenants of the still shut-down building.
Staffers for the members continued to work out of makeshift offices, including the General Accounting Office (GAO) located off the Senate side of the Capitol. The full staffs began joining core staffers in the GAO while awaiting final results from environmental sweeps conducted in the building. Staffers said they did not expect to be able to return to their congressional building before the end of this week.
Anthrax spores were found in the sixth and seventh floor offices of Reps. Mike Pence, R-Ind., Rush Holt, D-N.J. and John Baldacci, D-Maine on Friday. Only those who work in or visited those three offices were encouraged to start taking antibiotics.
Three floors were found to be clear of anthrax spores Monday, including the ground floor, the first floor and the third floor. But results from the second floor, where the Green, Barrett and Ryan offices are located, were not yet announced.
Meanwhile, the Hart Office Building on the Senate side of the Capitol will remain shuttered for two more weeks while a chlorine gas is used to decontaminate the building. Half of the Senate's 100 members are located in the building, including both Wisconsin senators, Herb Kohl and Feingold. A letter containing anthrax sent to Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., resulted in 28 positive tests for anthrax exposure, including two Feingold staffers.
Melanie Fonder is WisPolitics.com's Washington correspondent and a staff writer for The Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers Capitol Hill. Write to her at: info@wispolitics.com |
