Senator Patrick Leahy is one of our heroes in the Senate. His dedication to the Innocence Protection Act was above and beyond. Lately, he's been excellent in his opposition to the excesses of the Patriot Act and civil liberties abuses. Here's his latest, on "Subpoena Authority And Pretrial Detention Of Terrorists". He's frustrated with the Adminstration. For good reason. Here's a snippet:

My views are also colored by the lack of accountability and openness of this administration. Many on the Judiciary Committee have been seeking information about the implementation of FBI authorities after enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act. But it is like pulling teeth. One of these powers was the Section 215 subpoena – which gave the FBI the ability to seek a secret order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to require the production of tangible items and documents. A simple question was asked by many in Congress: How often had the FBI sought to exercise this power? A direct answer could not be obtained. After months and much public outcry, the Attorney General selectively “declassified” some data and announced that these Section 215 subpoenas had never been sought to obtain evidence. Ironically, he made this announcement amidst the Administration’s hard-court press for more authorities, despite having never used this particular law enforcement power.