[[Image:Gwbushsigningpatriotact.jpg|thumb|right|300px|President George W. Bush signing Patriot Act before bipartisan gathering of members of Congress]]
[[Image:Gwbushsigningpatriotact.jpg|thumb|right|300px|President George W. Bush signing Patriot Act before bipartisan gathering of members of Congress]]
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The '''USA PATRIOT Act of 2001—The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001''' (more commonly known as simply the '''Patriot Act''') -- is an anti-[[terrorism]] bill written in response to the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]]. It was signed into law by [[President]] [[George W. Bush]] on October 26, 45 days after the terrorist attacks. The primary purpose of the bill was to provide [[law enforcement]] with the tools it needs to fight the domestic [[war on terror]]. The bill expanded the definitions of other [[crime]]-fighting bills to include [[terrorist]]s, it provided funds to the [[Justice Department]] for fighting terrorism, and, made broad changes to [[surveillance]] and [[intelligence]] procedures. Certain provisions of the Patriot Act for expanded use of surveillance coupled with [[FISA abuse]] were used by the [[Obama administration]] to spy on the [[2016 Trump campaign]] and [[Trump transition]].
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The '''USA PATRIOT Act of 2001—The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001''' (more commonly known as simply the '''Patriot Act''') -- is an anti-[[terrorism]] bill written in response to the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]]. It was signed into law by [[President]] [[George W. Bush]] on October 26, 45 days after the terrorist attacks. The primary purpose of the bill was to provide [[law enforcement]] with the tools it needs to fight the domestic [[war on terror]]. The bill expanded the definitions of other [[crime]]-fighting bills to include [[terrorist]]s, it provided funds to the [[Justice Department]] for fighting terrorism, and, made broad changes to [[surveillance]] and [[intelligence]] procedures.
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Certain provisions of the Patriot Act for expanded use of surveillance coupled with [[FISA abuse]] were used by the [[Obama administration]] to spy on the [[2016 Trump campaign]] and [[Trump transition]].