The Leash Is Off

Jeff Elkins

Friday, May 31, 2002

Well, the leash is off.

America's KGB, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has had its already sweeping powers augmented yet again, under a set of new "guidelines," issued by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Keeping in mind that among other things, you can already be arrested and held incommunicado without bail, conversations with your attorney (if you're allowed one) be spied on and taped and you might even find yourself tried by military tribunal, how could things get worse?

Believe it, they just did.

The FBI's previous role was supposedly investigation of certain interstate crimes and crimes prosecutable under federal rather than state laws. Its purpose was primarily reactive rather than proactive, at least in theory. In practice, the FBI violated its "prime directive" uncounted times over the years, with unlawful black bag jobs, surreptitious wiretaps and surveillance, and various other tramplings on the spirit and letter of US Constitution.

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