Attorney General John Ashcroft is caught lying about interrogations of U.S. citizens

First he denied that the FBI was interrogating anybody about their plans for the Republican convention. Then he said they were talking to only a few people. Yesterday, Attorney General John Ashcroft, said that Federal agents interrogated only protesters he believed were plotting to firebomb media vehicles at the Democratic convention.



Putting aside the matter of the initial denial concerning the Republican convention but the excuse now including the protection of the Democratic convention, there are other problems. It turns out that FBI agents have not been asking questions about firebombs or media trucks. In fact, Ashcroft hasn't produced anybody who's even heard about a plot to attack the media ... or plans for any other disruptive acts for that matter. According Gary Bald, assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, the bureau does not have enough evidence to move against any group or person who might be plotting violent protests this month in New York.



And yet the interrogation of innocent Americans by agents of the Bush government continues.



Gee, I'd hate to think that the Attorney General was setting us up for a political crackdown if the Presidential race gets too close for comfort. You know, sort of a fall back plan in case Kerry's lead gets bigger than ballot fixing in Florida and a few other states can handle.



No worries, Pious John has an explanation, "We interviewed a very limited number of people that we believed were either participating in a plan to criminally and violently disrupt the Democratic National Convention, or individuals that might have known something about that plan."



And, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the United State of America, says that all of the lawyers, civil liberties activists, Democratic congressmen, and others who have criticized his interrogations as political harassment designed to stifle protests in violation of the protesters' First Amendment rights are themselves guilty of "outrageous distortion."



Whew! I suppose I ought to sleep better knowing Maximum Law John is on duty ... but somehow it's having the opposite effect.



San Francisco Chronicle: Ashcroft defends interviews with protesters