Obama Allowing Infringement on Power of FBI

By L. Vincent Poupard | Yahoo! Contributor Network
June 10, 2012


COMMENTARY | A North Carolina man was visited by armed EPA agents under police escort who were investigating an email he sent, according to Fox News. The man is questioning the EPA and believes the government should review procedures as he believes the visit was excessive. As a political scientist, the bigger statement is how the EPA was infringing on the responsibility of the FBI and how this is the second instance of infringement on the FBI to come to light recently, causing me to ultimately question President Barack Obama.

Larry Keller sent an email to the EPA asking for the contact information for Al Armendariz, the regional administrator who called for the government to "crucify" oil and gas company executives. The EPA sent two armed agents under police escort to Keller's house to discuss the email. This was a direct infringement on the powers of the FBI since it is the job of the bureau to investigate threats or potential threats against government officials. Whoever ordered the agents to investigate the email should be sternly reminded of the powers and responsibilities of the agency.

Attorney General Eric Holder appointed two U.S. attorneys Friday to investigate possible leaks of classified information. The FBI is investigating the matter and it has not been declared the attorneys will work directly with the bureau. Instead of bringing charges, the prosecutors will be conducting a primary investigation. In this action, Holder is minimalizing the investigation abilities of the FBI and increasing the responsibility of the U.S. attorneys.

Ultimately, the infringement on the powers of government agencies reflects on President Obama and questions need to be raised about why the president does not want the FBI involved in certain government investigations. Why does the president want investigators to report to him (as U.S. attorneys and EPA agents would) instead of keeping the power in the FBI, which reports to the government as a whole? Does he want to spread fear by using EPA enforcers? Are there aspects of the leaks he does not want uncovered by the FBI? Hopefully, these questions can be answered before the election so we know what is really going on in the "transparent" government the president promised us.

Obama Allowing Infringement on Power of FBI - Yahoo! News