Officials Criticize Police Surveillance

Md. Gov. Promises Not To Monitor Peace, Anti-Death Penalty Groups In Wake Of Police Targeting Activists

(CBS/AP)  Gov. Martin O'Malley said Friday that state police are obligated to investigate threats to public safety, but his administration will not use public resources to monitor anti-war and anti-death penalty groups.

Sen. Ben Cardin, meanwhile, called for a "full accounting" of federal, state and local surveillance following the release of state police documents showing undercover officers infiltrated meetings of peace and anti-capital punishment groups for more than a year, spending nearly 300 hours on surveillance.

"Our nation cannot allow police activity that is intended to discourage dissent by Americans who may disagree with certain government policies," said Cardin, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The governor noted state police are obligated to investigate threats to public safety, "but where there is no evidence of a potential public threat, illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing, all investigatory or intelligence gathering activities shall cease."

O'Malley released the statement a day after the Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union released state police documents it obtained after suing the department.

The documents show undercover officers spent nearly 300 hours on surveillance. Police also included the name of at least one prominent peace activist in a federal database for tracking terrorists and drug dealers.

Cardin noted federal anti-terrorism guidelines and regulations expressly prohibit the collection or maintenance of criminal intelligence information about the political, religious or social views, associations, or activities of any individual or any group unless it directly relates to criminal activity.

One database entry in the documents describes a peace group's preparation for 2005 meetings on Iraqi war policy in Washington and Baltimore with Cardin, who was a congressman at the time, the senator noted.

Maryland state police Col. Terrence B. Sheridan said in a statement Thursday that his agency has never done anything illegal to citizens or groups that have exercised their right to free speech and assembly.

"Only when information regarding criminal activity is alleged will police continue to investigate leads to ensure the public safety," the statement said.

The Maryland ACLU sued last month, claiming the state police refused to release public documents about surveillance of peace activists. The suit claimed a state police intelligence unit monitored Baltimore peace groups that protested at the National Security Agency at Fort Meade in 2004.

The documents show that for 14 months, the state police Homeland Security and Intelligence Division used covert agents to infiltrate the Baltimore Pledge of Resistance, a peace group, the Coalition to End the Death Penalty (CEDP), and the Committee to Save Vernon Evans, a death row inmate, the ACLU said.

The head of the ACLU chapter sent a letter to O'Malley on Thursday asking for an immediate end to the surveillance.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, who chairs the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced that he will lead an investigation into the Maryland charges.

“I think that most people would be upset to know that police were spying on lawful citizens and infiltrating peaceful organizations, rather than chasing down real criminals," Kucinich said in a press statement. "At a minimum, such police spying is clearly a waste of taxpayer dollars and a diversion from the mission of protecting and serving the people. I want the subcommittee to determine how widespread these activities are and who ordered them."

[kansas1946]

Sen. Ben Cardin, meanwhile, called for a "full accounting" of federal, state and local surveillance following the release of state police documents showing undercover officers infiltrated meetings of peace and anti-capital punishment groups for more than a year, spending nearly 300 hours on surveillance.

"Our nation cannot allow police activity that is intended to discourage dissent by Americans who may disagree with certain government policies," said Cardin, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

******************************

Oh, big surprise. The facists in this administration are living happy. They have made every attempt possible to distroy our consitution. They will fail, but it is sickening that so many people supported this regime in the Whitehouse for so long.

[impeach__w]

Cardin noted federal anti-terrorism guidelines and regulations expressly prohibit the collection or maintenance of criminal intelligence information about the political, religious or social views, associations, or activities of any individual or any group unless it directly relates to criminal activity.


Actually, this was just changed or is being changed, The FBI can start an investigation on you without and evidence or criminal activity or crime committed. It''s called profiling and you can read about it here
http://www.cbsnews.com
/stories/2008/07/03/national/main4229431.shtml

Where is the FBI you asked? They are creating a file on every person (American) and assigning a rating for their potential to cause terror.

Currently, FBI agents need specific reasons - like evidence or allegations that a law probably has been violated - to investigate U.S. citizens and legal residents. The new policy, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press, would let agents open preliminary terrorism investigations after mining public records and intelligence to build a profile of traits that, taken together, were deemed suspicious. Among the factors that could make someone subject of an investigation is travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity, access to weapons or military training, along with the person''s race or ethnicity.

[impeach__w]

None of this is legal, Let the lawsuits roll in BANKRUPT ALL OF THEM!

[six-six-seis]

pssst... we are being watched,
we are being monitored,.....
pass it on....... keep it quiet.....

[nojoy01]

My My. Most people here seem to be upset by the "big bad boogeymen in DC". Oops, excu-u-use me. The "big bad boogeypersons in DC". Aw fer crimineys'' sake. Get over it. Whether you''re blue or red & scream about this administration or the last administration, this country has/had/will have exactly the kind of government it deserves. If you''re old enough to vote & do vote, guess what, you''re one of the 60% eligible to vote who actually voted. An estimated 56 million people don''t even bother to register. So if 40% don''t vote & an election is decided by 51% of those that voted then only about 30% of the eligible voters in this country picked the winner. In the last several elections. So instead of whining here, go register people to vote, I do. & if you''re not old enough to vote, who cares what your opinion is? Not anybody running for office.

[wardoglrs]

Well what did you expect when Obama and the rest voted in favor of the FISA bill.
Your 4th Amendment right''s are gone. There not coming back. This is what you get when you vote for people who have no respect for the constitution. They don''t and will not follow the law, There above it and the worst of this is that America doesn''t get it or understand it.

The truth here is you are owned by Israel and you all better wake up quick. Why don''t you educate yourselves about these things before you vote for your self destruction.

Your owned lot stock and barrel. This is why you must pay taxes cause if you don''t you will lose your property and some jail or prison.

[jt_lancer]

nextgenman: "This whole illegal spying program was most assuredly a Republican Thing. They hate that pesky Constitution and those inconvenient Rights that our Founding Fathers fought and died to obtain."


The Democrats'' track record on ''preserving liberty'' and ''upholding the Constitution'' is just as bad as the Repubs.

Do you really think a Dem pres like Obama (with a Dem Congress) will overturn all of the unconstitutional laws imposed by Bush and the Repubs? Get real.

There ain''t a dimes worth of difference between the two parties. Politics, corruption, and unquenchable desire for state power go hand in hand, no matter what party is in power.

[Marie Zarankevich]

DefndLiberty -- Unfortunately, DefndLiberty, our lovely free country has spent the past 50 years selling itself off to the highest bidders, and is not quite what it used to be. -- We had a war with Greed, and Greed won! -- Now we appear to be stuck with the charming consequences, like it or not, which seem to include a delightful stint as a Facist country. -- The times, they are a-changing. -- Enjoy the show, people.

[nextgenman]

This whole illegal spying program was most assuredly a Republican Thing. They hate that pesky Constitution and those inconvenient Rights that our Founding Fathers fought and died to obtain.

GOP:The Fascist Party.

[etheone]

If the investigation proves that the State was involved in such activity... someone must resign.