Protecting the Big Money Boyz
by digby
This is why civil libertarians worry about domestic spying. This one didn’t happen 40 years ago:
The FBI breached its own internal rules when it spied on campaigners against the Keystone XL pipeline, failing to get approval before it cultivated informants and opened files on individuals protesting against the construction of the pipeline in Texas, documents reveal.
Internal agency documents show for the first time how FBI agents have been closely monitoring anti-Keystone activists, in violation of guidelines designed to prevent the agency from becoming unduly involved in sensitive political issues. […]
One FBI memo, which set out the rationale for investigating campaigners in the Houston area, touted the economic advantages of the pipeline while labelling its opponents “environmental extremists”.
Keystone activists don’t run around in the woods in camo gear with guns pretending to play revolutionary. They are not violent. And yet the government spied on them.
It’s not the first time they’ve investigated climate activists.
As Meteor Blades at Daily Kos notes:
The documents, The Guardian reporters write, indicate that the Houston operation was just one branch of investigations of anti-Keystone groups and individuals across the country.
A former FBI agent, Mike German, helped the newspaper understand the documents. He said that they indicate the bureau opened an “assessment” under expanded authority introduced after the 9/11 attacks to allow it to investigate people and groups even if they have no reason to believe they are breaking the law or planning to.
German, now a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, said the documents also raised questions over collusion between law enforcement and TransCanada.
“It is clearly troubling that these documents suggest the FBI interprets its national security mandate as protecting private industry from political criticism,” he said.
Is this really ok? We think it’s just fine for the government to be investigating non-violent protesters on behalf of commercial interests? Good to know.
But should we be surprised? After all, the NSA spies for “American” companies. Well, they aren’t actually American, are they? Most of them are multi-national and their loyalties are to their shareholders, wherever they may come from. For some reason Americans always assume that will end up benefitting them. Silly Americans.
.