Hearing on Patriot Act Ends in an Angry Uproar
A hearing on the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act degenerated into chaos on Friday, as Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. called Democrats "irresponsible," gaveled the session to a premature close and stormed out of the room.
Representative Jerrold D. Nadler, Democrat of New York, protested, "Point of order!" as the Republican committee members filed out of the room; the staff eventually unplugged his microphone.
After Mr. Nadler spoke, one witness, Dr. James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, continued to testify, but about the hearing itself. "As we are lecturing foreign governments," he said, "I am really troubled by what kind of lesson this is going to teach to other countries in the world."
