Philip Morris vs. the Patriot Act? According to this article in The Nation, back in October the tobacco industry convinced the White House and Tom DeLay to arrange the omission of a specific section of the Patriot Act on money laundering. It had been requested by the DOJ, but it would have made some tobacco companies vulnerable to lawsuits they were facing from several foreign governments (the full story behind those lawsuits is
here.) The smuggling charges are bad enough, but that the tobacco industry has a say in defining national security, if true, is infuriating. It also makes the enthusiasm with which the Patriot Act powers are being used to
monitor consumers a galling double standard.
posted by homunculus
on Apr 24, 2002 -
7 comments
