THE 2003 JEFFERSON MUZZLES GO TO: United States Attorney General John Ashcroft

According to The New York Times, associates of John Ashcroft described him as "adrift, almost bored" during the first seven months of his tenure as the Attorney General of the United States. "He was still trying to find his niche," reported an aide. Regardless of the accuracy of such characterizations of Ashcroft before September 11, 2001, both his critics and supporters would agree that they would be without merit if used to describe his tenure since the tragic events of that day.

Unfortunately, the "niche" that Ashcroft has found could be described as keeping the activities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) hidden from public scrutiny while simultaneously expanding the DOJ's authority to find out as much as possible about the private lives of the American public. Evidence to support this characterization is found in the following:

• The blanket (as opposed to a case by case determination) prohibition of public and press access to immigration deportation hearings. Although the U.S. Supreme Court specifically has held that the public and press have a First Amendment right of access to criminal court proceedings, and impliedly also to civil court proceedings, the DOJ claims no such rights exist for deportation hearings. Hence, the American public has been kept in the dark about the names of people arrested and deported in the wake of September 11.
• Urging passage of the USA PATRIOT ACT and expanded authority to investigate the private lives of American citizens, including what we read. Paul Weyrich, a conservative activist and former senior adviser to Ashcroft's brief bid for the presidency in 1998, has said, "I don' think he has assessed the long-term constitutional implications of all this, and that's a disappointment."
• Sharply curtailing the scope of DOJ responses to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Indeed, the DOJ has successfully stalled (thus far) an FOIA request filed on August 21, 2002, seeking information on the government's use of sweeping new surveillance powers authorized under the USA PATRIOT Act. "We are asking only for aggregate statistical data and other policy-level information," said David Sobel, general counsel to the Electronic Privacy Information Center, one of the organizations making the request. "The release of this information would not jeopardize ongoing investigations or undermine the government's ability to respond to new threats."
• Refusing to provide Congress with requested information regarding the DOJ's terrorist investigation activities. Prominent members of both major political parties have strongly criticized Ashcroft in this regard. Former Republican congressman Dick Armey described Ashcroft and the DOJ as "out of control." Republican Senator Charles Grassley said he is increasingly "frustrated" by the DOJ's failure to provide timely and accurate information. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy has said that the DOJ's secrecy concerns him because it suggests that when the DOJ makes a formal proposal, "we're supposed to roll over and play dead and just pass it."
• Prohibiting Jose Padilla and Yasir Hamdi, both United States citizens jailed but not charged on suspicion of adding terrorists, from speaking even with their own attorneys.
• Allowing $8,000 in tax dollars to be spent on drapes to conceal two semi-nude statues that often appeared behind the attorney general during press conferences in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice. Ironically, the two statues represent "The Spirit of Justice" and "The Majesty of Law."

Compounding the concern of free speech advocates are public statements made by Ashcroft in which he associates criticism of the above actions to aiding terrorism. In a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ashcroft said, "To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists-for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies, and pause to America's friends." Similarly, in a speech to a conference of U.S. attorney Ashcroft stated, "History teaches us that caution and complacency are a capitulation before freedom's enemies-the terrorists."

But, as a Washington Post editorial recently stated, "caution and complacency are not the same, and it is disturbing to hear Mr. Ashcroft equate them. Complacency is a danger. Fighting terrorism...may impinge on liberties that Americans have long taken for granted. But caution in approaching such a diminution of liberty is a virtue." Attorney General Ashcroft's statements and policies run counter to the First Amendment principle that open and rational debate is the cornerstone to a democratic state. Accordingly, he earns a 2003 Jefferson Muzzle.