25 October 2001
Text: Ashcroft Warns Terrorists That U.S. Will Find Them
(Says new congressional legislation will help track them down) (2130)
Attorney General John Ashcroft warned October 25 that authorities will
use every law and immigration regulation to put terrorists behind bars
and to intercept their communications, even their unopened electronic
and voice mail.
"Let the terrorists among us be warned," Ashcroft said in a speech in
Washington to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
"If you overstay your visa -- even by one day -- we will arrest you.
If you violate a local law, you will be put in jail and kept in
custody as long as possible. We will use every available statute. We
will seek every prosecutorial advantage. We will use all our weapons
within the law and under the Constitution to protect life and enhance
security for America."
Since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, Ashcroft
said, nearly 1,000 people have been arrested or detained in the
investigation. He said those determined not to be linked to terrorism
have been released, but he did not say how many.
"Taking suspected terrorists in violation of the law off the streets
and keeping them locked up is our clear strategy to prevent terrorism
within our borders," he said.
Ashcroft said new anti-terrorism legislation, that was later in the
day approved by the U.S. Congress, will open "a new era in America's
fight against terrorism." He said it will enable authorities to impose
"airtight surveillance" on suspected terrorists and speed up the
process of tracking them down and disrupting their plans.
Following is his speech as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)
Attorney General John Ashcroft
Prepared Remarks for the US Mayors Conference
October 25, 2001
For more than two hundred years, Attorneys General have called on the
men and women of justice to be faithful stewards of the law. Rarely in
history has an Attorney General asked America's prosecutors and law
enforcement officers to do what they are asked to do today: to be both
defenders of justice and defenders of the people; to devote their
talents and energies to the urgent task of saving lives ahead of
losing cases.
On September 11, the wheel of history turned and the world will never
be the same. A turning point was reached, as well, in the
administration of justice. The fight against terrorism is now the
first and overriding priority of the Department of Justice. But our
war against terrorism is not merely or primarily a criminal justice
endeavor -- our battle is the defense of our nation and its citizens.
The men and women of justice and law enforcement are called on to
combat a terrorist threat that is both immediate and vast; a threat
that resides here, at home, but whose supporters, patrons and
sympathizers form a multinational network of evil.
The attacks of September 11 were acts of terrorism against America
orchestrated and carried out by individuals living within our borders.
Today's terrorists enjoy the benefits of our free society even as they
commit themselves to our destruction. They live in our communities --
plotting, planning and waiting to kill Americans again. They have
crossed the Rubicon of terror with the use of biological agents. We
cannot explicitly link the recent terrorist attacks to the September
11 hijackers. Yet, terrorists -- people who were either involved with,
associated with or are seeking to take advantage of the September 11
attacks -- are now poisoning our communities with Anthrax.
Forty years ago, another Attorney General was confronted with a
different enemy within our borders. Robert F. Kennedy came to the
Department of Justice at a time when organized crime was threatening
the very foundations of the republic. Mobsters controlled one of the
nation's largest labor unions. Racketeers murdered, bribed and
extorted with impunity in many of the nation's largest cities.
Then, as now, the enemy that America faced was described bluntly --
and correctly -- as a conspiracy of evil. Then, as now, the enemy was
well-financed, expertly organized and international in scope. Then, as
now, its operations were hidden under a code of deadly silence.
As Attorney General, Robert Kennedy launched an extraordinary campaign
against organized crime. Under his leadership, the mission and
momentum of the Department of Justice were directed toward one
overarching goal: to identify, disrupt and dismantle the
organized-crime enemy within. A new spirit of cooperation was forged,
both among federal agencies and between state and federal law
enforcement. Prosecutors were action oriented -- pursuing cases rather
than waiting for the cases to come to them. Investigators focused on
function, not form -- they focused on doing what was necessary to get
the job done rather than what was dictated by the organizational
chart.
Attorney General Kennedy made no apologies for using all of the
available resources in the law to disrupt and dismantle organized
crime networks. Very often, prosecutors were aggressive, using obscure
statutes to arrest and detain suspected mobsters. One racketeer and
his father were indicted for lying on a federal home loan application.
A former gunman for the Capone mob was brought to court on a violation
of the Migratory Bird Act. Agents found 563 game birds in his freezer
-- a mere 539 birds over the limit.
There are obvious differences, of course, between the network of
organized crime America faced in 1961 and the network of terror we
face today. Today, many more innocent lives have been lost. Many more
innocent lives continue to be threatened. But these differences serve
only to call us more urgently to action.
The American people face a serious, immediate and ongoing threat from
terrorism. At this moment, American service men and women are risking
their lives to battle the enemy overseas. It falls to the men and
women of justice and law enforcement to engage terrorism at home.
History's judgment will be harsh -- and the people's judgment will be
sure -- if we fail to use every available resource to prevent future
terrorist attacks.
Robert Kennedy's Justice Department, it is said, would arrest mobsters
for "spitting on the sidewalk" if it would help in the battle against
organized crime. It has been and will be the policy of this Department
of Justice to use the same aggressive arrest and detention tactics in
the war on terror.
Let the terrorists among us be warned: If you overstay your visa --
even by one day -- we will arrest you. If you violate a local law, you
will be put in jail and kept in custody as long as possible. We will
use every available statute. We will seek every prosecutorial
advantage. We will use all our weapons within the law and under the
Constitution to protect life and enhance security for America.
In the war on terror, this Department of Justice will arrest and
detain any suspected terrorist who has violated the law. Our single
objective is to prevent terrorist attacks by taking suspected
terrorists off the street. If suspects are found not to have links to
terrorism or not to have violated the law, they are released. But
terrorists who are in violation of the law will be convicted, in some
cases deported, and in all cases prevented from doing further harm to
Americans.
Within days of the September 11 attacks, we launched this
anti-terrorism offensive to prevent new attacks on our homeland. To
date, our anti-terrorism offensive has arrested or detained nearly
1,000 individuals as part of the September 11 terrorism investigation.
Those who violated the law remain in custody. Taking suspected
terrorists in violation of the law off the streets and keeping them
locked up is our clear strategy to prevent terrorism within our
borders.
Today, the Department of Justice is positioned to launch a new
offensive against terrorism. Due to extraordinary bi-partisan and
bi-cameral cooperation in the Congress, law enforcement will have new
weapons in the war on terrorism. Yesterday, by an overwhelming margin,
the House passed the Anti-terrorism Act of 2001. Hours from now, the
Senate is poised to follow suit.
The president is expected to sign this legislation on Friday. The hour
that it becomes law, I will issue guidance to each of our 94 U.S.
Attorney's Offices and 56 FBI field offices directing them to begin
immediately implementing this sweeping legislation. I will issue
directives requiring law enforcement to make use of new powers in
intelligence gathering, criminal procedure and immigration violations.
A new era in America's fight against terrorism, made tragically
necessary by the attacks of September 11, is about to begin. The
legislation embodies two over-arching principles:
The first principle is airtight surveillance of terrorists.
Upon the president's signature, I will direct investigators and
prosecutors to begin immediately seeking court orders to intercept
communications related to an expanded list of crimes under the
legislation. Communications regarding terrorist offenses such as the
use of biological or chemical agents, financing acts of terrorism or
materially supporting terrorism will be subject to interception by law
enforcement. Agents will be directed to take advantage of new,
technologically neutral standards for intelligence gathering.
So-called "roving" wiretaps, that allow taps of multiple phones a
suspect may use, are being added as important as an important weapon
in our war against terror.
Investigators will be directed to pursue aggressively terrorists on
the internet. New authority in the legislation permits the use of
devices that capture senders and receivers addresses associated with
communications on the internet.
Law enforcement will begin immediately to seek search warrants to
obtain unopened voice-mail stored on a computer -- just as they
traditionally have used search warrants to obtain unopened email. They
will also begin to use new subpoena power to obtain payment
information such as credit card or bank account numbers of suspected
terrorists on the internet.
The second principle enshrined in the legislation is speed in tracking
down and intercepting terrorists. As soon as possible, law enforcement
will begin to employ new tools that ease administrative burdens and
delays in apprehending terrorists.
Investigators are now able to use a single court order to trace a
communication even when it travels outside the judicial district in
which the order was issued. The scope of search warrants for unopened
e-mail and other evidence is now also nationwide.
The new tools for law enforcement in the war against terrorism are the
products of hundreds of hours of consultation and careful
consideration by the administration, members of Congress, and state
and local officials. They are careful, balanced, and long overdue
improvements in our capacity to prevent terrorism.
The federal government cannot fight this reign of terror alone. Every
American must help us defend our nation against this enemy. Every
state, every county, every municipality must join together to form a
common defense against terrorism. The law enforcement campaign that
will commence in earnest when the legislation is signed into law will
be many years in duration. Some will ask whether a civilized nation --
a nation of law and not of men -- can use the law to defend itself
from barbarians and remain civilized. Our answer, unequivocally, is
"yes." Yes, we will defend civilization. And yes, we will preserve the
rule of law because it makes us civilized.
The men and women of justice and law enforcement have been asked to
shoulder a great burden for the safety and security of the American
people. We will, as we have in the past, never waiver in our faith and
loyalty to the Constitution and never tire in our defense of the
rights it enshrines.
Years after he left the office of Attorney General, an observer of
Robert Kennedy wrote that RFK brought these assets to his successful
campaign against organized crime: "A constructive anger. An intimate
knowledge of his subject. A talented team of prosecutors. And,
finally, a partner in the White House."
Today, as we embark on this campaign against terrorism, we are blessed
with a similar set of advantages. Our anger, too, is constructive. Our
knowledge is growing. Our team is talented. And our leadership in the
White House is unparalleled.
George W. Bush has done more -- much more -- than declare war on
terrorism. George W. Bush is fighting a war on terrorism. Under his
leadership, we have pledged ourselves to victory.
Terrorists live in the shadows, under the cover of darkness. We will
shine the light of justice on them. Americans alive today and yet to
be born and freedom-loving people everywhere will have new reason to
hope because our enemies now have new reason to fear.
Thank you.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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