FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2005

Marc Rotenberg
EPIC Executive Director
(202) 483-1140 ext. 106
rotenberg@epic.org

Marcia Hofmann
Director, EPIC Open Government Project
(202) 483-1140 ext. 112
hofmann@epic.org

     EPIC TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ON PATRIOT ACT REAUTHORIZATION
             Will Release Documents Obtained from the FBI

WASHINGTON, DC - The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) will
hold a press conference on Tuesday, December 13 to discuss documents it
received from the FBI concerning the Patriot Act.  The event will be
held at 10:00 am at the Fund for Constitutional Government, 122 Maryland
Ave. NE, Washington, DC. The building is directly across the street from
the US Supreme Court.

Congress is considering this week whether to renew key provisions of the
Patriot Act, including Section 215, the so-called "library records
provision."

Since 2001, EPIC has pursued a careful but determined strategy to
uncover documents about the government's use of the Patriot Act.  The
Washington-based privacy organization has obtained internal emails,
agency memos, and reports from FBI field offices about the use of the
Patriot Act.

The documents recently obtained by EPIC were released in response to a
lawsuit filed against the Department of Justice earlier this year under
the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The documents revealed investigations conducted for months without
proper reporting or oversight, an FBI agent's seizure of financial
records in violation of federal privacy law, and an unidentified
intelligence agency's unlawful physical search. Other documents suggest
that the FBI has sought to "bypass" an internal procedure for reviewing
the legal basis for section 215 searches.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the FBI to provide more information
about the use of the Patriot Act to EPIC. Judge Gladys Kessler stated
the FBI's responses to EPIC's request so far "have been unnecessarily
slow and inefficient."

EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg said that the recent revelations
raise new questions about Patriot Act renewal. "Congress should not
reauthorize the Patriot Act until these questions are resolved," said Mr.
Rotenberg.

EPIC staff counsel Marcia Hofmann said that under Judge Kessler's
timetable, EPIC could reasonably expect to receive the documents
requested in the next few months.

EPIC's FOIA request (pdf):

     http://www.epic.org/redirect/fbi_foia_request.html

EPIC FOIA documents on possible intelligence abuses (pdf):

     http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/foia/iob.pdf

Judge Kessler's Order (pdf):

     http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/kessler_order.pdf

EPIC's PATRIOT FOIA Page:

     http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/foia/

.