President Bush meets with Patriot Act Advocates

On the heels of yesterday’s release by the Coalition for Security, Liberty and the Law (CSLL) of a powerful Open Letter to the Congressional leadership, seventeen of the signatories met today with President Bush to applaud his determination to protect the American people against further acts of terror and to ensure that one of the most important tools for doing so – the Patriot Act – is not weakened, let alone allowed to lapse.

For his part, Mr. Bush underscored the real and continuing threat posed to this country by terror-wielding enemies and the necessity of equipping our law enforcement and intelligence personnel to defeat them. He emphasized the extraordinary work those public servants are performing for all of us and the dangers that would arise again if they were denied the authorities that were "sunsetted" in sixteen of the original Patriot Act’s provisions.

The President was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend, White House Counsel Harriet Miers, Press Spokesman Scott McClellan and the Director of White House Legislative Affairs, Candy Wolff.

Among the signatories of the January 25th letter who participated in the meeting were: former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, former Deputy Attorney General George Terwilliger, former Solicitors General Robert Bork and Theodore Olson, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, former Secretary of Education William Bennett, former Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Victoria Toensing, former Under Secretary of State William Schneider, former Deputy Assistants to the President for Homeland Security Mark Holman and Richard Falkenrath, former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy and former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.

The CSLL-sponsored group was also privileged to include Debra Burlingame, sister of Capt. Charles "Chic" Burlingame who piloted American Airlines 77, the plane that was hijacked and flown into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 . Ms. Burlingame has been among the most forceful and effective champions of the efforts made by 9/11 family members to prevent another terrorist attack in this country. She is also featured in a new Coalition for Security, Liberty and the Law television ad that was unveiled at a Washington press conference yesterday hosted by former Attorneys General Edwin Meese and Richard Thornburgh. The Coalition will begin airing its ads next week.

After the White House meeting, Mr. Gaffney said:

The Coalition for Security, Liberty and the Law deeply appreciates President Bush’s courageous and visionary leadership in the War for the Free World. His steadfastness in trying to keep America safe and free is an inspiration. His words of encouragement for our efforts are deeply appreciated and will, we hope, result not only in the redoubling of those efforts, but also in the enlisting in the fight to keep the Patriot Act strong and effective of millions of Americans for whom the Coalition speaks.