Coalition letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner on FBI

Guidelines
June 18, 2002

Coalition letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner on FBI

Guidelines, June 20, 2002

Coalition for Constitutional Liberties

A project of the Free Congress Foundation's Center for Technology Policy
717 Second Street NE
Washington DC 20002
202-546-3000
Fax 202-544-2819
www.freecongress.org
Lisa S. Dean, Director
J. Bradley Jansen, Deputy Director

June 20, 2002

Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.

U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Sensenbrenner:

On behalf of a broad coalition ranging from conservative, religious, libertarian

and other organizations, we want to congratulate you for taking the initiative to
protect our Constitutional rights and liberties regarding the recent decision of
the Attorney General to loosen the guidelines restricting the surveillance of
religious and political organizations in the United States.

Given the Federal Bureau of Investigation's actions under the old guidelines, we
are concerned that the new era will usher in an invigorated campaign against
lawful dissent and religious expression.

During the previous Administration, the American people witnessed an FBI that
routinely overstepped the boundaries of its authority by eroding the Fourth
Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Under Attorney
General Reno, the FBI targeted religious groups as well as pro-life and pro-Second
Amendment organizations and labeled them as likely to commit acts of terror. That
created a mindset within the agency that those who previously have stood for
American ideals, are now seen as potential terrorists.

In 1999 the FBI released a report to all state and local law enforcement
authorities entitled "Project Megiddo." The report aimed at increased surveillance
of individuals and groups "who profess an apocalyptic view of the millennium or
attach special significance to the year 2000." This was a clear example of
unwarranted surveillance of those citizens who profess strong religious beliefs,
oppose United Nations policies, are pro-Second Amendment or pro-life."

"A product of the Project Megiddo report was the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force
flyer put out by the Phoenix office a few years ago instructing law enforcement
officers to report individuals who are "'defenders' of the US Constitution against
federal government" and others.""

""Unfortunately, even under a new administration, the same mindset exists within
the FBI. That mindset revealed itself after the horrific events of September 11th
when Attorney General Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller announced sweeping
new changes within the agency. What that meant and what it should have meant are
very different. It should have meant a change from the "Reno mindset" within the
FBI to a more traditional mindset where the real suspects are targeted as opposed
to innocent American citizens.""

""We understand that law enforcement is under pressure to prevent terrorism from
ever again occurring on American soil but to toss out our Constitutional rights
must not be the way to proceed. The lower standards for surveillance of religious
activities and political expression has the effect of casting a wider net for
information when most analysts cite the inability to analyze the available
information as contributing to the intelligence failure regarding the tragic
events of September 11th, 2001. The emphasis now should be on the processing of
information into meaningful analysis and a more directed focus of accurate
information gathering. More importantly, conclusions must be based on the
information gathered rather than information gathered to fit already drawn
conclusions.""

""The First and Fourth Amendments and the system of checks and balances
established in our Constitution should not be undermined under the guise of
mendacious explanations for failure. We are concerned that lowering the
surveillance standards would cause such a system of checks and balances to
implode. "If it looks bad, it's bad for the FBI" is a motto that invites trouble
and after September 11th and the negative press that the agency has endured, it is
also one that will undoubtedly be taken more seriously. The new guidelines should
explicitly prohibit agents from acting outside the boundaries of the law in order
to apprehend or persecute a suspect, however innocent, in order to make the agency
look effective. There should be no objection to a specific prohibition on
investigators acting as agents provocateur or encouraging others to violate the
law in order to make cases that would not otherwise have existed.""

""Furthermore, since the changes only apply to domestic guidelines and not
foreign, these changes would have done nothing to prevent the horrific events of
September 11th had they been in place. However they will target American citizens
when, in fact, surveillance efforts ought to be focused on foreign nationals and
visitors to the U.S.""

""We would be happy to work with you and your staff on this issue. If you would
like, please contact J. Bradley Jansen at the Free Congress Foundation at 202-204-
5324 or by email at bjansen@freecongress.org.""

""Sincerely,""

""Lisa Dean
Vice President for Policy
Free Congress Foundation""

""William J. Murray
Chairman
Religious Freedom Coalition""

""Larry Pratt
Executive Director
Gun Owners of America""

""Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform""

""Steve Dasbach
Executive Director
Libertarian Party""

""Jane Orient, MD
Executive Director
Association of American Physicians & Surgeons""

""Charles H. Cunningham
Director of Federal Affairs
National Rifle Association""

""James Cox
President
Association of Concerned Taxpayers""

""Connie Mackey
Vice President for Government Affairs
Family Research Council""

""Jerry Berman
Executive Director
Center for Democracy and Technology""

""Amit A. Pandya
Counsel
Open Society Policy Center""

""Joe Eldred
President and Founder
God Bless America""

""Larry Cirignano, Esq.

President
CatholicVote.org""

""Katherine Albrecht
Founder and Director
CASPIAN - Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering""

""Alex Koroknay-Palicz
Executive Director
National Youth Rights Association""

""Chuck Muth
National Chairman
Republican Liberty Caucus""

""James Landrith
Editor & Publisher
The Multiracial Activist""

""F. Paul Valone

Executive Director, Rights Watch International
President, Grass Roots North Carolina""
""Scott Weinberg
Director of Governmental Affairs
Population Research Institute""

""Telly Lovelace
Director of External Affairs
Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education (C.U.R.E.)""

""Frances B. Smith
Executive Director
Consumer Alert""

""Christopher Whalen
The Whalen Consulting Group
New York""

""Kathryn Serkes
President
Square One Media Network""

""David R. Burton
Partner
Argus Group""

""James Boucher
President/CEO
JB Computer Consulting""

""Steven C. Smith
Chancellor
Henricus College ""

""Michael H. Smith,
President
Thomas More Institute ""

""Kat DeBurgh
Chair
Libertarian Party of the District of Columbia""

""Doug Stiegler
Executive Director
Family Protection Lobby - Maryland""

""Mike Fellows
Chair
Montana Libertarian Party""

""Lee Kershner, Member

Citizen WatchGroup
Las Cruces, NM""

""Michael D. Ostrolenk
President
Global Integral Research""

""Galen E. Alexander
Founder/Chairman
Ohio Conservative Alliance""

""Gerry Poulos
Chairman
Ohio Conservative Coalition""

""William Riley
Director
NW Council of Governments""