Ashcroft Goes On Victory Tour

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"Attorney General John Ashcroft is hitting the road to rally support for the Victory Act, which would further expand his powers to go after Al Qaeda and narcoterrorists," the New York Daily News reports. Ashcroft's 10-day tour will visit 20-states promoting his Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act. Critics say expanding Ashcroft's powers would further erode civil liberites. The Victory Act if passed would "clamp down on Arab hawala transactions, where cash exchanged in an honor system has been funneled to terrorists; get business records without a court order in terrorism probes and delay notification; track wireless communications with a roving warrant; and increase sentences for drug kingpins to 40 years in prison and $4 million in fines," the Daily News reports. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is expected to introduce the Victory Act next month.