Reply #216: ACLU Says FBI Misuses Terror Powers

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Terror-Investigations.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union accused the FBI of misusing terrorism investigators to monitor some domestic political organizations, despite apparently disparate views within the FBI whether some groups supported or committed violent acts.

Citing hundreds of pages of heavily-censored documents it obtained from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act, lawyers for the ACLU described this disputed use of terrorism resources as the latest illustration of intensified surveillance aimed toward Americans.

''Using labels like domestic terrorists to describe peaceful protest activity can chill robust political debate in this country,'' ACLU lawyer Ben Wizner said in New York. The ACLU said it will publish the FBI reports it obtained on its Web site Tuesday.