Intelligence bill includes expanded counterterrorism powers

WASHINGTON -- People indicted on terror charges will have a much harder time being freed on bail under a provision in the new intelligence bill. The provision also broadens the government's authority to spy on terror suspects.

Critics say the enforcement powers, attached to the bill with little debate in Congress, weaken civil liberties and privacy rights already undermined by the Patriot Act that was approved shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The new legislation broadens prohibitions against providing material support to terror groups, makes it a crime to visit a terror camp that provides military-style training, and allows the FBI to obtain secret surveillance warrants against ''lone wolf" extremists not known to be tied to a specific terrorist group. It also makes terrorism hoaxes a federal crime and toughens penalties against people who possess weapons of mass destruction.

The Bush administration pushed to include the law enforcement package in the intelligence measure to augment the Patriot Act, which expanded the government's surveillance and prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates, and financiers.

''We are pleased that Congress agreed that we still needed to improve our defenses," Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said.

Critics say the provisions escaped scrutiny because they were tucked into the massive bill creating a new national intelligence director.

''Overall, it's another threat to civil liberties in this country," said Charlie Mitchell, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. ''It's just a continuation of what the administration's been doing."

Under the bill, a legal presumption would be established denying bail for anyone indicted by a grand jury on terrorism charges. Although the suspect could appeal to a judge, the burden of proof would be on the defendant to show that release would be prudent. That stipulation has long been in place for suspects in many violent and drug crimes but not for terrorism.

Skeptics say the provision has the potential to be abused, possibly resulting in long detentions for people ultimately found innocent.

The bill also allows federal prosecutors to share secret information obtained in grand jury proceedings with state, local, or foreign law enforcement officers if it might help prevent a terrorist attack.