Could the FBI spy on churches?
Posted by: LOLMinistries <LOLMinistries@...>
By Deborah Charles
Reuters
WASHINGTON (May 30) - The FBI on Thursday won additional powers to conduct
domestic counterterrorism surveillance at places like mosques -- changes
critics say could trample on Americans' rights and civil liberties.
A quarter century after the government imposed guidelines to curtail domestic
spying, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a complete overhaul of the
rules. The new guidelines, responding to the Sept. 11 attacks, lift FBI
restrictions on conducting surveillance at public gatherings, on religious
and political organizations and on surfing the Internet.
''The guidelines emphasize that the FBI must not be deprived of using all
lawful authorized methods in investigations, consistent with the Constitution
... to pursue and prevent terrorist actions,'' Ashcroft said.
FBI Director Robert Mueller, whose bureau has been under fire for its failure
to act on information that might have prevented the deadly Sept. 11 attacks,
said the changes are needed to properly fight terrorism.
''The guideline changes ... are important, they're important steps to help
remove unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to the effective investigation of
terrorist cases,'' Mueller said.
''These changes complement the reforms we announced yesterday to strengthen
our, the FBI's, capacity to prevent terrorism in the wake of September 11.''
Under the new guidelines, undercover FBI agents will be able to attend public
gatherings or enter places -- such as mosques -- that are open to the public.
They can also search the Internet for counterterrorism purposes. Under the
previous guidelines, FBI agents had to offer evidence of criminal activity to
get approval for such surveillance.
Civil liberties groups warned the changes could result in a return to the
days of domestic spying.
But President Bush defended the change, saying it was a part of necessary
reforms at the FBI.
''We intend to honor our Constitution and respect the freedoms that we hold
so dear,'' he said. ''Our most important job is to protect America. And the
initiative ... will guarantee our Constitution. And that's important for the
citizens to know.''
RETURN TO COINTELPRO?
The attorney general's guidelines on surveillance were first imposed on the
FBI in the 1970s following disclosures that the bureau under the late J.
Edgar Hoover had run a widespread domestic surveillance program called
Cointelpro.
Critics said the FBI under Hoover had overstepped its authority by using
Cointelpro to spy on civil rights activists including Martin Luther King and
the Black Panthers, opponents of the Vietnam War and others.
''Apparently Attorney General Ashcroft wants to get the FBI back in the
business of spying on religious and political organizations,'' said Margaret
Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights. ''That alone would be
unconstitutional but history suggests the FBI won't stop at passive
information gathering. We fear a return to the days of Cointelpro.''
The American Civil Liberties Union blasted the new guidelines as the ''latest
power grab by an administration that seems determined to undermine the
bedrock values of liberty, equality and government accountability.''
The ACLU and other groups have opposed previous measures implemented by
Ashcroft since Sept. 11 including the creation of military tribunals, mass
detentions and the monitoring of some attorney/client communication.
A senior Justice Department official rejected concerns the sweeping changes
would lead to violations of civil liberties. ''We will never return to the
bad old days,'' he said. ''As the attorney general said, we think outside the
box, not outside the Constitution.''
But Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House of
Representatives Judiciary Committee, blasted the guidelines.
''The administration's continued defiance of constitutional safeguards seems
to have no end in sight,'' Conyers said in a statement. ''This decision
decimates the Fourth Amendment.''
The change in the guidelines are in part a response to a memo written by
Coleen Rowley, an FBI agent in Minneapolis, who complained that tough rules
and bureaucracy hampered the initial investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui, who
was later charged with conspiring in the attacks.
Reuters 17:21 05-30-02