Outgoing Attorney General John D. Ashcroft forcefully defended some of his most controversial policies and statements yesterday, arguing that aggressive law enforcement and intelligence gathering were "expansions of freedom" that helped prevent terrorist attacks on the United States.
Ashcroft also warned that two recent Supreme Court rulings limiting the use of federal sentencing guidelines could cause an increase in crime and urged Congress to pass legislation that would develop enforceable guidelines that conform to the high court's rulings.
 
Friday's Question:
| | |
|
In an informal meeting with reporters in Washington during his last week in office, Ashcroft again endorsed policies and tactics that had made him a political lightning rod throughout his four years as the nation's chief law enforcement official. Lawmakers say the man nominated to succeed Ashcroft, White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales, will be confirmed by the full Senate later this week.
Pointing to continued declines in crime rates and the lack of a domestic terrorist strike since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Ashcroft said his biggest mistake was a failure to properly explain the USA Patriot Act, the anti-terrorism law that has come under steady criticism from civil liberties advocates and some lawmakers.
The former Missouri governor and senator stood by some of his most controversial statements, including Senate testimony in December 2001 that many interpreted as an attempt to quash political debate over terrorism policies. "To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve," Ashcroft said at the time.
Ashcroft said yesterday that the remarks were often misinterpreted and were aimed at warnings of "phony lost liberties" rather than valid criticism.
"If you take a look at the words I said, I feel that way," he said, adding later: "I stand by my statement that people who do that divert us."
In his remarks to reporters and in a speech earlier in the day, Ashcroft also criticized a Jan. 12 Supreme Court ruling that sentencing guidelines for federal judges are advisory, not mandatory. Without stricter guidelines, Ashcroft said, prosecutors will lose leverage over suspects and judges are likely to hand out more lenient sentences.
The ruling, Ashcroft said at the Heritage Foundation, is "a retreat from justice that may put the public's safety in jeopardy."
The departing attorney general said he had no firm plans, but expects to stay in the Washington area and give speeches, do business consulting and perhaps teach.
Ashcroft said he had no plans to reenter politics, adding that he viewed himself as a "retired politician" after becoming "the only person to lose . . . to a deceased person in an election." Democrat Mel Carnahan beat Ashcroft in the 2000 U.S. Senate race in Missouri despite having been killed in a plane crash several weeks earlier. His wife took his seat.
