Three men, all dressed in grey suits and driving a Ford Crown Victoria sedan, pull up in front of your house. Two come to your door and knock. The taller of them, who looks like Ephraim Zimbalist, Jr., flashes a badge and tells you that they are from the FBI and would like a word with you about your plans during the week of the Republican National Convention. They'd also like to talk to you about what your neighbors, the ones with the Kerry sign in the front yard, might be up to. His partner warns you that withholding information about anyone with plans to create a disruption is a crime. Then the tall one adds that you might be subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury.
Technically, at that moment, you have a right to refuse to talk to them. This is still America after all, and you can just close the door and walk away. And because you don't have to talk to them, Attorney General John Ashcroft's the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (the same outfit that recently approved the use of torture against terrorism suspects) has determined that any chilling effect that these "interviews" might have on citizens is "quite minimal," and "substantially outweighed by the public interest in maintaining safety and order."
But maybe you'd better just invite the FBI agents in and see what you can do to help out. After all, you don't have anything to hide, right? It might be a good idea, though, to cancel your plans to attend that rally next week. Just to be safe. Wouldn't want to be part of any trouble. You never can be too careful. Besdies, you can watch it from a safe distance on Fox News.
Der Spiegel (Germany): Interrogating the Protesters
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