Political police: GOP fears revived DOJ domestic terror unit could target political foes

Top GOP chairman raise fears about targeting

Political police: GOP fears revived DOJ domestic terror...


By Kelly Riddell
The Washington Times
Wednesday, June 11, 2014

House Republicans are raising concerns about the revival of a Clinton-era domestic terrorism task force, warning it has the potential to become a tool for the Obama administration to silence political opponents — including those who favor limited government and support Second Amendment rights — by branding them terrorists.

Last week, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said he was planning on reestablishing the defunct task force that would focus on stopping and preventing domestic terror threats, especially those with radical antigovernment or racial prejudices. The Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee (DTEC) will be made up of officials from the Justice Department, the FBI, and U.S. Attorneys’ offices, and aims to help coordinate with local public-safety officials around the country, officials said.House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Virginia Republican, raised questions about the idea at the opening of an oversight hearing with FBI Director James Comey Wednesday.“Given that the administration appears to have used the IRS to intimidate its political opponents, we need to ensure the DTEC won’t be used as another way to silence conservatives, including those who call for a smaller, more limited government,” Mr. Goodlatte said.The task force was originally convened after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and met regularly until the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. After the World Trade Center bombings, its mission evolved from domestic threats to international groups, focusing on the defeat of al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere.

Recent events, including the white supremacist who was charged with shooting and killing three people at a Kansas City-area Jewish centers in April; the radical, antigovernment, husband-and-wife team that shot dead two law-enforcement officers on Sunday in Las Vegas; and incidents like the shooting that killed six people at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in 2012, have led officials to refocus on domestic terror.Federal law enforcement will be careful to only investigate these matters when crimes have been committed, and won’t block free speech, Mr. Comey said in written testimony Wednesday.“We face domestic terrorism from individuals and groups who are motivated by political, racial, religious, or social ideology — ideology fueled by bigotry and prejudice — as we saw in Overland Park, Kansas,” said Mr. Comey.“Most of the time, domestic extremists are careful to keep their actions within the bounds of constitutionally protected activity. And for the FBI, protecting those civil liberties — such as freedom of speech — is of paramount importance, no matter how hateful that speech might be. We only get involved when words cross the line into illegal activity,” Mr. Comey said.

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