# The Patriot Act - Not for Terrorism Only **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 13, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-patriot-act-not-for-terrorism-only/213027 "2003-11-13T14:40:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-patriot-act-not-for-terrorism-only/213027/1 "2003-11-13T14:40:26Z")
Yesterday Clarence Page wrote a column about LEOs using Patriot Act search procedures to investigate money laundering - a Las Vegas strip club owner accused of bribing local officials. _available at Chicago Trib site - requires free registration_ The column had quotes (paraphrased below) from Justice Department officials to the effect that **“The PA was never solely about terrorism”** and **"we feel the American public wants us to use any tools at our disposal to combat crime."** There is no mention of why LEOs believed traditional search procedures, such as obtaining a warrant, were impractical. This really sends a chill up my spine, and makes me suspect my worst fears about the PA may have been true. I find it terribly troublesome to suspect that the administration opportunistically preyed upon the post-9/11 climate to pass a law-and-order agenda reducing civil liberties in a manner that was neither needed nor intended to combat terrorism. All the while declaring critics to be unpatriotic… ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-patriot-act-not-for-terrorism-only/213027/2 "2003-11-13T14:47:20Z")
What’s a LEO? I’d recommend a read of the Patriot Act, as many (most) of its clauses do _not_ specify themselves as “terrorism only”. Really, the only terrorism specific items I can think of off the top of my head were some of abilities granted to officials to search the funding of organizations suspected of funding terrorism. ---
**Author:** ![TVAA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TVAA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVAA)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-patriot-act-not-for-terrorism-only/213027/3 "2003-11-13T14:50:35Z")
Law Enforcement Officers. How does that saying go? “No matter how cynical we become, it’s impossible to keep up.” ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-patriot-act-not-for-terrorism-only/213027/4 "2003-11-13T14:52:14Z")
[The USA PATRIOT Act](http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html) Title III covers money laundering, as it’s titled “TITLE III–INTERNATIONAL MONEY LAUNDERING ABATEMENT AND ANTI-TERRORIST FINANCING ACT OF 2001”. Note the separation of money laundering and terrorism. Each separate clause is quite specific on its inclusion of terrorism-related activity. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-patriot-act-not-for-terrorism-only/213027/5 "2003-11-13T14:57:58Z")
So why the rush to push money laudering laws immediately following 9/11 under the title of patriotism? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-patriot-act-not-for-terrorism-only/213027/6 "2003-11-13T17:01:42Z")
Convenience? I dunno. I’m certainly in agreement with you that the Patriot Act has some questionable content, all of which have been thoroughly discussed on the boards. But I think the portions of it regarding finances, money laundering, and investigating possible terrorist support are the least controversial among them.