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Good Cause” and the Timely Collection of Information about Terrorists

24 June, 2003

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies cordially invites you to a Congressional Roundtable Discussion:

WHEN:     Tuesday, June 24, 2003, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

WHERE:     385 Russell Senate Office Building

PANEL:     MR. RICK CINQUEGRANA, Deputy Director, Congressional Joint Inquiry into 9/11; MR. JIM DEMPSEY, Executive Director, Center for Democracy and ; MR. TIM EDGAR, American Civil Liberties Union; MR. CHRIS FORD, Former General Counsel, Senate Select Committee on ; MR. DANIEL J. GALLINGTON, Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies(MODERATOR); MR. JIM MCADAMS, Department of Justice; DR. ROBERT POPP, DARPA; MR. JOHN RIZZO, Deputy Geneeral Counsel, CIA; DR. LATANYA SWEENEY, Professor, Carnegie Melon University

PROGRAM:     Americans expect the Government to protect them from terrorist attacks, at home and abroad. In order to do so, the Government must have timely information i.e., before terrorists strike. Much of this information may not be significant and thus may be perceived as gratuitous unless it is correlated—it must “connect the dots.” Because Americans don’t blindly trust Government with personal or private information, the following questions are raised:

How does the Government get the information it needs to protect American citizens worldwide? And, how does it get information in a way that protects our Constitutional rights?

Should the Government be able to look at any documents and records (including information in public and commercial databases) that become “relevant” in a particular investigation?

Who should determine whether something is “relevant” to a terrorism investigation, and what threshold of proof is needed?

What are the minimum due process standards that are Constitutionally required to authorize investigations?

What oversight requirements are appropriate for law enforcement and intelligence communities as they investigate terrorism? Which oversight mechanisms—from those of Congress, Attorney General, Inspector General—are most likely to perform effective oversight?

This discussion in the PROJECT GUARDIAN series will examine these and other fundamental issues in the context of new technologies, civil liberties, public health and safety, and the War on Terrorism. The discussion scenario provided will serve as a legal and policy framework for the roundtable discussion. The roundtable participants will address the following specifics:

Should the concept of “probable cause” or some other standard be allowed to be based on anonymous data?

Should “transactional” data alone be used to furnish “cause” for further inquiry? What is “transactional data”? Can automated searches of such data be made in ways that protect identities? With what safeguards?

What are the roles of the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches in developing and limiting new technologies and authorities to obtain information about terrorist activities?

For more information please visit PROJECT GUARDIAN. Registration is required. Please register with Ms. Janelle Gatchalian by phone at 703/525-0770 or email at jgatchalian@potomacinstitute.org. Please provide your name, title, office, phone, and email.