The Justice Department’s inspector general’s office has issued a report that claims the USA Patriot Act has never been used to abuse anyone’s civil rights or civil liberties. The report comes a week after President Bush asked Congress to renew the law. A Justice Department spokesperson said on Tuesday, “It is clear that the government has been thoroughly responsible in its implementation of the act.” How the Justice Department came to this conclusion is less clear. The report states the agency received over 1200 civil rights and civil liberties complaints during a six month period ending in mid-December. Of those complaints the agency determined only 17 involved Justice employees and merited a full investigation. And none of the 17 involved abuses specifically related to the Patriot Act.