General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Nina Turner: Americans Should Be Concerned About Cohen FBI Raid Going Too Far [View all]Ms. Toad
(34,055 posts)The issue I responded to was whether the character of the people involved made it a false equivalence.
My family, and and organization I was on the national governing body during part of the surveilled time, have been the subject of FBI surveillance. That surveillance did not rise to the level of search warrants (at least not personally), but it did involve FBI infiltration of the organization and the FBI has been known to overstep its bounds as to people it believes are enemies of the state.
In order to ensure our civil rights and privacy rights are protected, the laws must protect everyone equally. If we overlook violation of the law when the target is a sleezebag, we will be unable to enforce it when it is a civil rights icon.
My response had nothing to do with anything Nina Turner said, who she is aligned with, or the specific merits of the case. I was solely addressing the assertion that it was a false equivalence to compare a sleezebag attorney with a civil rights icon. As to the operation of search warrants and FBI surveillance, we cannot afford to decide whether we care or not based on the personality of the person charged - or the person whose rights may be being violated.