FBI got groove back

By William A. COLLINS

OtherWords

You may be too young to remember J. Edgar Hoover. He led the FBI in the 1940s through the ‘60s. Badly. Liberals lived in fear of appearing on his “list.” Mere suspicion of leftist thought could lead to an interrogation and potential job loss for supposedly wrong-thinking Americans.

When Hoover died, persecution of liberals died down. The Soviet Union’s demise helped, too.

But now the FBI has its groove back, thanks to 9/11. The agency has found a new demon to purge as it knocks down your door — terrorism. You may not be a terrorist yourself, but do you give them “material aid?”

Gaza aid

Material aid includes such treasonous acts as sending humanitarian donations to relief agencies in Gaza. One charity might just be related to Hamas, the duly elected government which the United States defines as “terrorist.” If you are in a peace organization trying to organize a dialogue between hostile parties, one of those parties is bound to be on some FBI/CIA list, and thus you are giving them aid.

Such was the subversion that FBI agents were seeking recently when they invaded six private homes in Minneapolis and Chicago. Their search warrants authorized ferreting out evidence of “knowingly providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.”

Lacking any evidence, the agents passed out subpoenas, which ordered appearance before a grand jury. They also confiscated all the computers, electronic devices, and paper files that struck their fancy. Think about that. There was no arrest and the grand jury may not even convene, but these folks have lost their computers, iPods, notepads, and a serious part of their recorded lives. Will they ever get those records or their equipment back? Maybe yes, maybe no.

This sort of citizen abuse isn’t uncommon. A Justice Department Inspector General report that emerged just a week earlier says, this sort of unlawful activity has been going on since Hoover and we really do wish the FBI would stop it.

No one ever gets punished for such actions. The Bureau never does stop, no matter who is in the White House.

OtherWords columnist William A. Collins of Norwalk, Conn., is a former state representative and a former mayor.