The Connecticut Post Online | Feds fear 'mosaic' would tip terrorists if librarian named

The Connecticut Post Online | Feds fear 'mosaic' would tip terrorists if librarian named: "If a Connecticut librarian's name is let out of the bag, terrorists might use that and other information to piece together how the FBI is trying to thwart their activity.

That's the 'mosaic theory' behind the U.S. Department of Justice's effort to keep the librarian muzzled, as outlined in a motion filed Friday with the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

The federal agency filed an emergency motion for an expedited appeal seeking a stay in a lower court's ruling that lifted the government gag order.

'[O]nce information that should remain confidential has been publicly disclosed, the genie is out of the bottle and we have not the means to put the genie back,' department lawyers wrote in the appeal.

The Justice Department filed the motion in response to U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall's Sept. 9 ruling lifting a gag order, imposed by the USA Patriot Act, barring the librarian from ever identifying himself.

The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the librarian — identified only as 'John Doe' — in a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

According to the ACLU, Doe wants the gag order lifted so he can testify before Congress about the Patriot Act, many provisions of which are set to expire at the end of this year. The Patriot Act authorizes the government to demand libraries and bookstores turn over patrons' records, and makes it a potential crime for them to talk about it."