Domestic spying far outpaces terrorism prosecutions

[liberal N proud]

As more Americans are watched, fewer cases are made. The trend concerns civil liberties groups as well as some lawmakers and legal experts.
By Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 12, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The number of Americans being secretly wiretapped or having their financial and other records reviewed by the government has continued to increase as officials aggressively use powers approved after the Sept. 11 attacks. But the number of terrorism prosecutions ending up in court -- one measure of the effectiveness of such sleuthing -- has continued to decline, in some cases precipitously.

The trends, visible in new government data and a private analysis of Justice Department records, are worrisome to civil liberties groups and some legal scholars. They say it is further evidence that the government has compromised the privacy rights of ordinary citizens without much to show for it.

The emphasis on spy programs also is starting to give pause to some members of Congress who fear the government is investing too much in anti-terrorism programs at the expense of traditional crime-fighting. Other lawmakers are raising questions about how well the FBI is performing its counter-terrorism mission.

The Senate Intelligence Committee last week concluded that the bureau was far behind in making internal changes to keep the nation safe from terrorist threats. Lawmakers urged that the FBI set specific benchmarks to measure its progress and make more regular reports to Congress.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-justice12-2008may12,0,3603103.story?track=ntothtml

[formercia]

1. Terrorism laws have replaced drug laws in domestic spying

Drug laws allowed the government to sneak and peek on subjects of drug investigations. These laws have been abused by authorities to enable them to spy on citizens by using trumped-up rationales that would fail scrutiny in a court of law.
Terrorism legislation has expanded these powers and allowed investigations and domestic spying for the most nebulous of reasons.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I've been saying this for years-- that we're...

spending all this money without knowning what, if any, "terrorist threats" are out there.

As with so many other things, just properly doing the jobs we already have will take care of most of the "threat."

[Echo In Light]

3. The govt is not spying in hopes of catching "terrorists," unless you define dissent as terrorism

That anyone can be so gullible as to actually believe otherwise is mind boggling.