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"The money laundering laws included in the Patriot act are not, and were not intended, to be used only against terrorists."

Regardless - the PATRIOT ACT was passed as an emergency measure to deal with a critical threat to national security. It was passed under the guise of being absolutely vital to the national security of the United States and the well-being of US citizens across the country. The bill was plopped down on the desks of Congressmen in the middle of the night and voted on the following day. Anything snuck into PATRIOT that was not intended to be used against terrorists is just as worthy of being struck down as parts of PATRIOT that were intended to be used against terrorists but have been used against non-terrorist American citizens for non-terrorism-related crimes. Those who snuck non-vital provisions into a bill hailed as 'must-pass-immediately' should be publicly outted as the frauds they are, and the provisions themselves should be struck down until such time as they can be properly presented to the Congress for real consideration. No one read this thing because no one had time to read it. Those who passed it had just come back from being hidden by the Secret Service throughout the area because their very lives were seen to be under threat. The fraud perpetrated on the US Congress and the American people in this case is one I think is damn near deserving of charges of treason for certain individuals. Indeed, some parts of PATRIOT make sense and should be kept. Other parts need to be struck down ASAP. We need to start holding Congressmen accountable for shady actions, such as slipping in last-minute garbage provisions into must-pass legislation.

"snuck into PATRIOT "

They weren't "snuck" into the Patriot Act. They had been kicked around Washington for years as others have pointed out. The Patriot Act was almost exactly the same as a bill introduced at the beginning of the congress by Sensenbrenner. And anybody who even nonchalantly followed the bill knew the money laundering laws in it were added from a separate bill.

I wish they had kept the bill just to anti-terrorism, but it was known at the time they didn't. Of course the media didn't provide good coverage, just simplistic and sensationalist 'reporting'.