New Guidelines Would Give F.B.I. Broader Powers

New Guidelines Would Give F.B.I. Broader Powers

www.nytimes.com

The new guidelines would allow the F.B.I. to open an investigation of an American, conduct surveillance, pry into private records and take other investigative steps “without any basis for suspicion.” The plan “might permit an innocent American to be subjected to such intrusive surveillance based in part on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or on protected First Amendment activities".

(visit the link for the full news article)

More of our rights as American citizens are being trampled on in the name of the "War on Terror". The American people should not stand for this. Wake up America !!


www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I was going to post this story - glad I used the search function.

This story is a big damn deal, as big as the Patriot Act and more dangerous I think.

What I want to know is when did the F.B.I. expand their jurisdiction from investigating to intelligence gathering? Because that's really what this is.

If the Justice Department is developing his plan, how did we come to hear of it? I am often curious about these ill-defined 'sneak peeks' we get from time to time.

It was signed by Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

Do we trust them? It seems evident that even they, presenting this in the function as our representatives, failed to paint a picture which would assuage our innate fear of any increase in power for the single most politically used (abused?) enforcement agency we have ever known.

I propose that until relatively recently the FBI was 'available' to the whim of the President, which was problematic. Now, however, this 'agency' once subordinate to the Executive body, is remaining a tool of what some might call 'neoconservatism'. 'Problematic' is an understatement for describing this reality.

The FBI was once conceived and implemented, seems to have almost immediately been 'used' for the purpose of manipulating the political arena. That's a red flag to me.

From the seemingly overlooked executive order issued at the end of last month:

In accordance with these policies and procedures:

(A) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall coordinate the clandestine collection of foreign intelligence collected through human sources or through human-enabled means and counterintelligence activities inside the United States;

(B) The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall coordinate the clandestine collection of foreign intelligence collected through human sources or through human-enabled means and counterintelligence activities outside the United States;

Note that the clause 'collection of foreign intelligence' is separate from 'counterintelligence activities'. Further duties of the FBI:

...the intelligence elements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall:

(1) Collect (including through clandestine means), analyze, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence and counterintelligence to support national and departmental missions, in accordance with procedural guidelines approved by the Attorney General, after consultation with the Director;

(2) Conduct counterintelligence activities; and

(3) Conduct foreign intelligence and counterintelligence liaison relationships with intelligence, security, and law enforcement services of foreign governments or international organizations in accordance with sections 1.3(b)(4) and 1.7(a)(6) of this order.

There's a great overview of the various aspects of the new 'Intelligence Community' agencies in that EO. Also, very important, in a subtle way, is the introduction of a new concept -- the Intelligence Community 'element' -- which can be declared as such using only the authority of the President.

The FBI has never been 'just' an criminal investigative agency. Remember the Church Committee!