(Cross-posted from The Paragraph.) “[I]t’s quite extraordinary to grant government agents the statutory authority to secretly break into Americans homes,” said Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) last month at a Judiciary Committee hearing on the PATRIOT Act.⁸⁰ A month after 9-11, with half its members shut out of their offices due to anthrax-powdered letters, the Senate passed the PATRIOT Act by a vote of 98-1 — the lone “nay” vote cast by Feingold.⁸¹ The stated purpose of the PATRIOT Act was to help stop terror attacks, but there is little to show it has done that.⁸²⁸³ However, the PATRIOT Act has boosted federal snooping.⁸⁴ For instance, sneak-and-peak — the “authority to secretly break into Americans’ homes.” that Feingold mentioned — went from a seldom-used tactic to 760 warrants issued in 2008, but with only three warrants sought for terrorism cases.⁸⁵ Now, Feingold and nine other senators are sponsoring a bill — the JUSTICE Act — to rein in the PATRIOT Act’s broad and easy search and seizure powers.⁸⁶

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