The American Civil Liberties Union revealed Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit three weeks ago to challenge aspects of the Patriot Act but the group has been barred from releasing the text of the lawsuit because the government claims it would violate secrecy provisions of the Patriot Act. The ACLU’s associate legal director Ann Beeson said, “It is remarkable that a gag provision in the Patriot Act kept the public in the dark about the mere fact that a constitutional challenge had been filed in court. President Bush can talk about extending the life of the Patriot Act, but the ACLU is still gagged from discussing details of our challenge to it.” The ACLU is challenging a provision in the Patriot Act that gives the FBI power to request financial records and other documents from businesses without a warrant or judicial approval. The ACLU released a redacted version of the lawsuit Wednesday. The full lawsuit remains under seal.