Spying Scandal Engulfs Other U.S. Agencies

[Wehrwolfen]

Matthew Charles Cardinale
22 August 2013


SPOKANE, Washington, Aug 21 (IPS) - Earlier this month, Reuters revealed that a special division within the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been using intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a mass database of telephone records to secretly identify targets for drug enforcement actions.In the wake of these revelations, a former prosecutor tells IPS he believes he and his colleagues may have been unwitting pawns in the federal government’s effort to deceive defendants and the court system, thereby violating citizens’ constitutional rights.

“None of us had any idea whatsoever there was a secret DEA programme that instructed DEA agents to conceal the source,” Patrick Nightingale, a former prosecutor for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, told IPS.

“My oath as an attorney and as a prosecutor was as an officer of the constitution, and not to win at all costs. This [programme] is a win at all costs mentality: whether it’s constitutional or not we’re going to use it and we can conceal it,” he said.

Called the Special Operations Division (SOD), it is comprised of some two dozen federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency (NSA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of Homeland Security.

Everything about the SOD is secret, including the size of its budget and the location of its offices.

Reuters has also identified the IRS as a recipient of the information, pointing to a former IRS training manual that referenced the SOD programme.


[Excerpt]
Read more:
Spying Scandal Engulfs Other U.S. Agencies

What connection do the DEA, FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS and DHS have? Why they are all agencies Obama has taken over.

 

[specklebang]

The DEA is probably the agency that has most benefited from this trampling of privacy rights.

Is anyone surprised?

 

[Northern Light]

Why is the media calling it a scandal? Monica was a scandal. Congress people taking bribes from corporations is a scandal.

The government spying and collecting vast amounts of personal information without warrant or cause is the rise of tyranny and fascism.

 

[Montecresto]

Why is the media calling it a scandal? Monica was a scandal. Congress people taking bribes from corporations is a scandal.

The government spying and collecting vast amounts of personal information without warrant or cause is the rise of tyranny and fascism.

Yep! But have you noticed how increasing numbers of Americans are so past appreciating privacy?

In fact look at the interest this thread gets when compared with threads of far less importance that turn into 6,8 or 10 pages.

 

[Wiseone]

"The DEA uses informants" well no ****.

Is the concept of the use of informants somehow new to people? And how is that a violation of your rights if someone informs on law enforcement of your illegal activities? Or "secretly identify targets" no ****, again, since when is it a violation of your rights if the police don't inform you that they suspect you're conducting illegal activities and are currently investigating you? Never.

There's nothing new about any of these law enforcement tools, and so long as they are being done with a warrent for a specific case for a specific reason there's nothing wrong with any of it.

 

[Montecresto]

The use of informants is not the main problem with the policy. Did you ever read Reuters original report on this?