October 26, 2003
Congressman Barr Regrets Vote on PATRIOT Act:
“In Retrospect,” He Praises Democratic Attempt to Limit Law to Terrorist Crimes
Bob Barr said today that his vote in favor of the PATRIOT Act was a mistake. The conservative former Georgia Republican Congressman, who pressed for the impeachment of President Clinton even before the Lewinsky Scandal, said on a Washington DC radio talk show that he regretted his vote in favor of the PATRIOT Act.

Appearing on “The Inside Scoop with Mark Levine,” on the second anniversary of the PATRIOT Act to discuss civil liberties after 9/11, Barr also conceded “in retrospect” that he should have supported the Democratic Party’s alternative motion to the PATRIOT Act, which would have limited the law to crimes of terrorism.
“It sounds certainly in retrospect to be a sound motion,” Barr said, “because I’ve been very disturbed — although I have to tell you not terribly surprised — that the PATRIOT Act has been used as a number of us suspected it would be, for crimes that have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism: drug cases, certain fraud and other white collar crimes . . .
“So not having limited its terms specifically to crimes of terrorism — which it ought to be . . . is a serious shortcoming in the legislation itself.”
[Ed: Congressman Barr’s statement can be found in the October 26 archives at marklevinetv.com, 33 minutes into the program on the PATRIOT Act.
(archived broadcast )]