ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

In a letter, a coalition of thirty-seven civil rights organizations ask the Justice Department to hold off on plans to amend guidelines that, in the words of the Associated Press, would allow the FBI to “investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile.” The coalition requests a “meaningful opportunity to submit comments and suggestions, as well as for Congress to conduct essential oversight, including potential hearings” before the guidelines are finalized.

The guidelines were last amended in 2002. The letter raises the concern that the FBI would engage in profiling based upon race or political beliefs, as it has in the past. For a brief history of the government’s surveillance of Americans, see “The Fires That Led to FISA” by Dr. John Prados, a senior fellow at the National Security Archive.

In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Mukasey said “these guidelines could not, and would not purport to, circumvent constitutional limitations on the use of race, religion, or other protected classes in all manners of investigations.”

A history of the Attorney General’s Investigative Guidelines is available in this 2005 report from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General. This 2003 Congressional Research Service Report explains the role of the FBI.