Wider FBI power concerns lawmakers
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:52:17 GMT
US lawmakers have expressed concern about new guidelines for FBI investigations because it may contradict First Amendment activities.

"We are particularly concerned that the draft guidelines 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," said the letter addressed to Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

In it, the four Democratic senators -- Russ Feingold (Wisconsin), Ted Kennedy (Massachusetts), Richard Durbin (Illinois) and Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island) -- urged the Justice Department to wait until experts and legislators could provide input on the proposed changes.

The proposed guidelines would "permit the FBI to use a variety of intrusive investigative techniques to conduct 'assessments' of possible criminal activity, national security threats or foreign intelligence collection -- without any initial factual predication," the senators wrote.

The law proposed by the Department of Justice would permit local and state cops to gather intelligence on police suspicion, not evidence, keep it secret for up to 10 years, and share it with the federal government.

The draft has mounted fears among American activists as it gives the US police the go-ahead to stake out antiwar groups or people who the cops might deem as threats.

SG/HAR
texas grass Reviewed by texas grass on . Wider FBI power concerns lawmakers Wider FBI power concerns lawmakers Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:52:17 GMT US lawmakers have expressed concern about new guidelines for FBI investigations because it may contradict First Amendment activities. "We are particularly concerned that the draft guidelines 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," said the letter addressed to Attorney General Rating: 5