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FBI making shit up

2010-08-03 17:09:04.466502+00 by Dan Lyke 4 comments

So there's the "ha ha, Mike Godwin puts the smackdown on the FBI" aspect of Wikipedia's response to the FBI's attempt to make them remove the FBI logo (PDF), article and appropriate excerpts here, but there's also the aspect that David Larson, Deputy Director of the FBI, and Brian Binney, Assistant General Counsel of the FBI, deliberately omitted portions of the code they cited to make their case.

Let me restate that: We have sworn law enforcement officers (I think, they're FBI officials, right?) making up law.

That needs to go way beyond "career limiting behavior".

[ related topics: Law Law Enforcement ]

comments in descending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: made: 2010-08-11 00:14:16.479226+00 by: Shawn [edit history]

I must confess I find my feathers ruffled at the inclusion of "transvestite" among the enumeration of evils attributed to this individual you reference, Andy...

#Comment Re: made: 2010-08-04 15:35:49.504945+00 by: m

Nothing new. The FBI lab is a particular problem as it readily succumbs to pressure in finding upper management desired results even in high profile cases. This includes the urea analysis issues in the Oklahoma City bombing and the first WTC bombing in '93. Web copies are available of court testimony of Frederick Whitehurst, Ph.D., senior FBI laboratrian.

The FBI is frequently unwilling to remedy even some of the most egregious lab work that it has done. An example of this would be bullet match analysis in which an FBI expert testified in some 2500 or so cases which only had wish fulfillment as its analytical basis. In 2004 the National Academy of Sciences published a complete refutation of the procedure, but to date the FBI has not yet been willing to release a complete list of all the cases in which their so called experts testified. There are quite likely still people imprisoned on the basis of this "evidence."

#Comment Re: made: 2010-08-03 23:58:38.387942+00 by: andylyke [edit history]

I love the irony inherent in the words emblazoned on the ribbon - "Fidelity Bravery Integrity". Bear in mind that these are the folks whose headquarters building is named after a closeted transvestite who blackmailed presidents and waged a vendetta against Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fidelity - to what?

Bravery - why we chose a life hiding behind badges and carrying firearms

Integrity - Huh?

Notice the absence of "Competence" and reflect on the fact that these folks ignored their own field office's warning about Arabs taking flying (but not landing) lessons. Maybe the I stands for Incompetence.

#Comment Re: made: 2010-08-03 17:32:25.435712+00 by: Dan Lyke

Sent to US Representative Lynn Woolsey, and Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein:

Per the New York Times yesterday, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03fbi.html , FBI Deputy Director David Larson, and Assistant General Counsel Brian Binney deliberately misquoted US Code.

Sworn law enforcement officials making up law to push forward their own agendas is the worst sort of abuse of public trust. These people are sworn to uphold the law, not be the law, and if missteps of this level aren't criminal, at the very least they should be career terminating.

Behavior like this undermines belief in law enforcement at all levels, and should be dealt with strictly and harshly.

Thank you.