Saturday, June 11, 2005

It's the White House

False

The Patriot Act Has Helped Prosecutors Take Legal Action Against Terrorist Operatives And Their Supporters. Since September 11th, the United States has charged over 400 suspected terrorists, and more than half of those charged have already been convicted.

White House Fact Sheet: The Patriot Act Helps Keep America Safe
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/06/20050609.html


Truth

An analysis of the Justice Department's list of terrorism prosecutions by The Washington Post shows that 39 people -- not 200 -- have been convicted of crimes related to terrorism or national security.

Most of the others were convicted of relatively minor crimes such as making false statements and violating immigration law -- and had nothing to do with terrorism, the analysis shows. Overall, the median sentence was just 11 months.

Few Terror Convictions in Cases Since 9/11, Less Than Half of the People Charged Had Demonstrated Connections to Terror Groups
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/11/AR2005061100381_pf.html