Bob Barr - Criticism of Bush Administration

Criticism of Bush Administration

Since leaving Congress in 2003, Barr has become a vocal opponent of the Patriot Act and has stated that he voted for it reluctantly and regrets voting for it, only agreeing because the Bush administration promised not to attempt to expand the granted powers or use them for non-terrorism purposes, and the administration agreed to report to Congress on their usage. Barr says that the Bush administration promptly ignored these three promises given to Congress and has used the powers granted from the Patriot Act to further erode due process of law even in matters unrelated to terrorism. Barr claims that the Clinton administration did much of the same thing. In 2005 — the year the Patriot Act was due for renewal — Barr helped found an organization called Patriots to Restore Checks and Balances, a bipartisan group dedicated to eliminating aspects of the Patriot Act that could potentially affect law-abiding citizens rather than terrorists, and to "restore traditional checks and balances on government power so the country can effectively fight terror without sacrificing the rights of innocent Americans, rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution." Barr still serves as the group's chairman.

Barr has been a vocal opponent of President George W. Bush's claim of authorization to wiretap transnational phone calls without individual judicial license. He has said, "What's wrong with it is several-fold. One, it's bad policy for our government to be spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency. Secondly, it's bad to be spying on Americans without court oversight. And thirdly, it's bad to be spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it without court order."

In 2006, he debated the architect of the Patriot Act, Viet Dinh, on terrorism and privacy issues.