On Oct. 6 the Texas Attorney General rejected the Sunshine Project’s request for access to University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) records under the Texas Public Information Act. This decision prohibits the public from accessing information regarding human health and environmental damages that might result from IBC's research on biological weapons agents. The Sunshine Project has been seeking information on the committee’s membership, policies, meetings and decisions for over a year.

In recognition of growing public distrust of the government's expanded powers under the Patriot Act, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the Justice Department has not used Section 215 of the Patriot Act.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has limited his exposure to journalists' questions during his around-the-country speaking tour to respond to growing public concerns about the Patriot Act. While the American Civil Liberties Union and American Library Association have been singled out by Mr. Ashcroft and the Justice Department for criticizing the excessive secrecy and overly broad powers of the Patriot Act (see related story, "Ashcroft declassifies use of a Patriot Act power"), journalists also are expressing increased concerns about government powers expanded under the Patriot Act.