Thread: Is the President Threatening Members of Congress?

Originally Posted by Mamie

I have proposed a convention myself. But like you said, with all the corruption going on, we need to make sure we have a clean state --

The main point with even mentioning it is so people realize there are actually a few more routes to take yet before ever giving up on "the process".

Originally Posted by Mamie

Originally Posted by Xianleather

Thats tough one to swallow, I still think it WAS a gunshot and we are being lied to. But this? seems a little far fetched..

doesn't seem far fetched to me. Clinton did the same thing during his impeachment trial, he obtained the personal records of Congress

Don't forget missy klinton's FBI FILES that couldn't be found?

http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/3364/1/436

A Michigan forum on freedom of information and open government held during Sunshine Week last month provoked a call to the event's sponsor, the local League of Women Voters, from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent. The agent complained about one panelist’s statements that criticized the USA PATRIOT Act and suggested the League should have had someone from the federal government on the panel. Within days Common Cause and the League wrote to FBI Director Robert Mueller to protest.

The March 14 panel on open government, held by the League of Women Voters of Berrien and Cass counties in Three Oaks, MI, featured a journalist, prosecutor, communications professor, and Common Cause president Chellie Pingree. Pingree noted that freedoms are being eroded in the name of national security, saying that concern about the Patriot Act is justified, and "Government wants to act in secrecy to invade your privacy."
A local newspaper covered the event and quoted Pingree. Within a few days, St. Joseph FBI agent Al DiBrito had called Susan Gilbert, president of the local League, claiming that Pingree's comments were "way off base" and that the League should have had someone from the federal government on the panel. He went on to say that someone from the U.S. Attorney's office in Grand Rapids would be contacting her to set the record straight on the Patriot Act.

Gilbert believed the call to be a threat, telling the Herald-Palladium that the FBI "should not go around intimidating the League of Women Voters and Common Cause because they don't like the Patriot Act. There are many people who don't like the Patriot Act, including members of Congress. I'm just stupefied."

DiBrito told the press that the call was only meant to invite the League to debate what was reported. It is widely regarded to be wholly inappropriate, however, for a government agency to attempt to dictate who speaks at meetings of citizen organizations.

Such subtle intimidation is even more problematic when the agency in question is the FBI, with its history of unconstitutional surveillance and interference in organizations, including the COINTELPRO program. COINTELPRO is an acronym for an FBI counterintelligence program whose purpose was to neutralize political dissidents. It operated from 1956-1971 and conducted operations against civil rights, anti-war, and many other groups. The program ended in 1971 after it was publicly exposed.

The letter sent by Common Cause and the League to Mueller described what had transpired, explaining that "[w]hen the country has far more pressing security and terror concerns, we question the FBI using precious resources hounding leaders of two of the most distinguished citizen advocacy organizations in the country. Is this the kind of behavior citizen activists can expect from the FBI? To us, it smacks of intimidation." Pingree and Kay Maxwell, President of the League of Women Voters, in a joint statement averred that "[c]itizens can be intimidated when an FBI agent calls and questions their activities." The statement also raised the question, "Why should a citizen meeting on open government merit the attention of the FBI?"

This is from the World Socialist Website and the ACLU is likely no friend of ours, but it is posted for what it is.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/ma...-m20_prn.shtml

The American Civil Liberties Union charged Wednesday that the FBI and local police departments have engaged in intimidation tactics against human rights, civil liberties, antiwar and other advocacy groups based on political association. The ACLU allegations are based on documents obtained under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed late last year by the civil liberties group.

To date, the ACLU has received fewer than 20 pages from the FBI in response to their FOIA requests. But even these documents reveal a pattern of coercion and intimidation of individuals and groups who have committed no crime or “terrorist” activity, but rather have been targeted for their political beliefs. ACLU affiliates on Wednesday filed FOIA requests in 10 states seeking similar documents.

The ACLU filed the FOIA requests last December following widespread complaints from students and political activists who said they were visited and questioned by FBI agents in the months leading up to the 2004 Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions. The requests were filed in six states and Washington, DC, on behalf of more than 100 organizations and individuals.

The ACLU charges that the FBI is withholding thousands of pages of relevant documents. The group filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday aimed at compelling the FBI to comply with the ACLU’s FOIA requests. They are seeking FBI files kept on the ACLU itself, Greenpeace, United for Peace and Justice and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, as well as many other environmental, animal rights, fair trade, labor, religious, Native American rights, nuclear disarmament and other advocacy groups.

In particular, the documents obtained so far show that the FBI has mobilized its Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), working with local police authorities, to spy on, interrogate and otherwise threaten antiwar protesters and disrupt their activities. These spying and intimidation operations were not triggered by terrorist or criminal actions on the part of these groups and individuals, but were aimed at silencing opposition to government policy.

One memo shows FBI fixation on the Food Not Bombs organization in Colorado. On its web site, the group describes itself as a collection of “hundreds of autonomous chapters sharing free vegetarian good with hungry people and protesting war and poverty throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.”

ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson commented: “Since when did feeding the homeless become a terrorist activity? When the FBI and local law enforcement target groups like Food Not Bombs under the guise of fighting terrorism, many Americans who oppose government policies will be discouraged from speaking out and exercising their rights.”

The same memo on the FBI’s Colorado activities concerns a visit by police agents last summer to the Denver home of 21-year-old Sarah Bardwell, an intern with the American Friends Service Committee, a nonviolent Quaker group. Ms. Bardwell told the ACLU at the time that she and her housemates were approached by four FBI agents and two Denver police officers who told her they were “doing some preventive measures and investigating.”

According to the ACLU, the questions the agents asked were consistent with those asked of others interrogated by the JTTF, such as: “Are you planning to be involved in any criminal acts at the national convention? Are you aware that if you assist or know anybody planning any criminal acts and do not report them, it’s a crime?”

The heavily censored memo from the FBI’s Denver field office described these interrogations as “pretext interviews.” It confirms that the JTTF visit to Sarah Bardwell and her housemates was carried out for the express purpose of intimidation.

The ACLU writes of the memo in their May 18 press release: “The FBI notes that although they did not obtain information about criminal activity from either student, it was unnecessary to contact others in the area, as ‘the purpose of the interviews was served.’” In other words, the agents felt an adequate measure of coercion and bullying had been utilized.

Another individual seeking additional documents as part of the ACLU’s FOIA request is Reverend Raymond Payne, a United Methodist minister from Russell, Kentucky. Rev. Payne says he was detained for over an hour as he attempted to enter Canada with his wife for a vacation last October. He told the ACLU that border officials informed him he was targeted because he is the subject of an FBI file. “Reverend Payne has never been arrested, been charged with a crime, or even participated in protest,” the ACLU press release states.

Although the Joint Terrorism Task Force was established in 1980, the Bush administration seized on the September 11 terrorist attacks as a pretext to accelerate its integration of federal, state and local police agencies. The total number of JTTFs has more than doubled since 9/11, to 66, including one in each of the FBI’s 56 main field offices, with more than 2,300 personnel working on these task forces nationwide.

The FBI’s web site describes the JTTFs as “important ‘force multipliers’ in the war on terror, pooling multi-agency expertise and ensuring the timely collection and sharing of intelligence absolutely critical to prevention efforts.” In reality, what has multiplied is the unconstitutional assault upon protections of free speech and freedom of association. The basic premise is that domestic dissent—the expression of opinions counter to the Bush administration’s foreign or domestic policy—is tantamount to aiding and abetting “terrorism.”

On October 15, 2003, the FBI circulated an “Intelligence Bulletin” concerning “tactics used during protests and demonstrations,” giving police detailed instructions on how to target and monitor lawful political demonstrations. The memorandum was circulated in advance of antiwar protests planned for Washington, DC, and San Francisco.

The memo cites lawful and peaceful methods of protest organizers, such as use of the Internet to raise funds and recruit protesters, using cell phones to organize protests, and videotaping police to document brutality. It points out that activists are unlikely to cooperate with law enforcement agencies after demonstrations and that “[p]ost-demonstration activities can include fundraising in support of the legal defense of accused protestors and demonstrations of solidarity calling for the release of the accused.”

While none of these activities are described by the FBI as illegal, the memo directs police agencies to “be alert to these possible indicators of protest activity and report any potentially illegal acts to the nearest FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.”

In was revealed last year that local police in Denver participating in the JTTF turned over the names and license numbers of individuals involved in peaceful protests who had committed no crimes and had not been arrested. Denver police kept a list of 7,000 people—divided into eight categories of “extremists”—who were then added to the FBI’s “Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File.”

Last month, the Portland (Oregon) City Council voted 4-1 to withdraw two city officers from the JTTF, becoming the first city to pull out of the network. Mayor Tom Potter had come under pressure to recommend the withdrawal following the wrongful arrest last year of Portland attorney Brandon Mayfield as a suspect in the March 11, 2004, Madrid train bombings. The two officers will reportedly now work with the FBI on a case-by-case basis.

http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2003/05/6085.shtml

A few dozen activists from around san diego protested at the FBI office on Monday

A few dozen activists protested at the San Diego FBI headquarters on 9797 Aero drive on Monday. They were protesting the harassment of a local activist who has received a grand jury subponea, and who has been harassed at work, and trailed on the street by the FBI.

The activists held up signs saying "stop grand jury harassment of activists! no compliance!", "dissent is not a crime", "FBI hands off our community", "We will not be intimidated" and "back off James Motz". James Motz is the FBI officer in charge of the case.

Using a bullhorns and drums, the activists created a loud ruckus in order to get the attention of the FBI and the passers by. There was a good amount of traffic, as well as a number of FBI employees leaving the building who had the treat of hearing the message of "Stop harassing activists!" The actvist in question has comitted no crime, and is not being told why he has been subponeaed, only that he must comply or be arrested. He still not complying, and continuing to resist.

Media presence at the event was light, only the Union Tribune, Clearchannel, and Univision showed up, despite the press release and phone calls that went out to all the television stations in San Diego. (emphasis added)

Security at the FBI office openly harassed the one media cameraman who was present. They asked to see his ID, and his "media credentials". When he said that he didn't have them, they said they would confiscate his camera, and abruptly walked away. They then came back and said that he could film, he just couldn't film the security guards. The cameraman was very angry at this obvious attempt to infringe on his rights.

The group marched to the entrance of the fbi building and attempted to enter, but was immediately told to stop by the security guards. Two activsts approached the guard and asked him if they could enter, and he said no. They asked if they could speak to an agent, and he said he would call someone. After a long period of waiting and drumming, the group went back to the street corner. The agent finally did come out, but only spoke to the reporter to say that they had no comment, and did not speak to the activists at all.

Police presence was light, with only a few cruisers driving by, and two police cars, one SDPD and one CHP stopping and watching from a distance.

Grand Juries have been abolished in many other countries, and it is widely believed that grand juries as they exist in the US are a gross injustice. The National Association of Criminal Defense lawyers says this on their website for grand jury reform:

"The prosecutor exercises enormous power, unrestrained by law or judicial supervision. The grand jury process itself is largely devoid of legal rules. The process has become one that wholly fails to protect ordinary American citizens... A good prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich."

Let me tell you all about Tom Potter, and his groupies!!

This man is a raving lunatic. He went on this little "oust the JTTF" rampage after the FBI did not give him the clearance he would have needed to be "included" in the local JTTF. He was basically throwing a mayoral fit!!

He rides bike with this group calling themselves "Critical Mass". This is the same group of anarchists who have been accusing local transit of running them off the roads, along with other drivers (trying to pump up media attention about how BAD driving is), as well this group has been harassing passersby where they protest every Saturday at a fur store. Mind you, these are not even the stores customers, they just want past the crowd and they get surrounded and screamed at. Police stand by, not doing anything, on the police chief and safety coordinators commands.

Now on this thought, remember this group is wholly supported by the mayor and his crew. The fur store, called Schumackers, has been asking for help from the police and/or sity for some time. The cities safety coordinator, who oversees the police, has told the owner of Schumackers that if they called 911 for help again, they would be arrested. Now here is a law abiding business, and they cannot get help to rid the sidewalk in front of their business so at the very least, people passing by can feel safe, let alone the way the owner and their employees are left feeling vulnerable to these fanatics.

Now here's the clincher, both Randy Leonard the safety coordinator and Tom Potter have told the owner of Schumakcers, Greg Schumacker, that he should considering moving his business out of the area, although this family business has been in downtown Portland about 114 years. The city has recently run other businesses out with their lack of concern for this type of enviroment.

Now, this anarchist group I mentioned who Tom Potter is chummy with, these are the people who surrounded me and my family, calling us racists, and also throwing me to the ground after one of their friends took papers from me. Police did nothing and so far Randy Leonard has never responded to my request to speak with him about this.

So, this is a twofold post. Tom Potter is not to be trusted, he has really messed things us, we needed the JTTF as we have had Al-Qaida links here in Portland. And....I trust the FBI more than I would ever trust anyone in Portland, and to tell stories that come from the ACLU????? Folks really, this is not a conspiracy theory board. The ACLU is just as bad as Portlands current government, neither can be trusted.

Do I have issues with Tom Potter and Randy Leonard and Portland Police? You bet. They are as corrupt as can be and should be fully investigated by the FBI. The group they are chummy with, should not only be fully investigated, but jailed for the harassment of citizens.

loservillelabor

This is from the World Socialist Website and the ACLU is likely no friend of ours, but it is posted for what it is.

"Why should a citizen meeting on open government merit the attention of the FBI?"

illegals can do whatever they please, but citizens, who have the vested right of freedom of speech cannot

if you have not followed the thread in this forum "Council of Foreign Relations" *** READ**** you need to check in.

the anwers to your question are there.

we need to move quickly

considering the "memo" the American people got that

"THERE WILL BE GUEST WORKERS . . . PERIOD" -- makes you wonder