Advocates object to FBI surveillance guidelines

Civil liberties and Muslim groups say domestic surveillance guidelines recently revealed by the FBI show the agency could be spying on Americans who are not involved in crime or terrorism.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the 258-page document shows the FBI can conduct invasive surveillance of Americans with essentially no restrictions. And the Council on American-Islamic Relations is concerned about the use of informants in mosques.

"These newly revealed guidelines for FBI investigations only serve to heighten concerns that the Bush administration put in place policies that will inevitably lead to violations of the Constitution and of the right of all Americans to practice their faith without fear of government intrusion or intimidation," CAIR attorney Nadhira Al-Khalili said in a statement.

Late Friday the FBI posted an edited version of its Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide on its Web site as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The guide was approved in December, during the final days of the Bush administration, and establishes policy that guides all the FBI's domestic operations, including counterterrorism, counterintelligence, criminal or cyber crime.

Foundation attorney David Sobel said he's more concerned with what the FBI removed from its guidelines for public consumption than what it disclosed. The edited version blacked out descriptions of how the FBI pursues investigative "assessments" of Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing and how it uses informants in political, civil and religious organizations.

"The critical parts of the guidelines are being withheld so it's impossible for anyone to make any informed comment on what the FBI is doing," Sobel said. He said the foundation will continue fighting in court for more disclosure.

While CAIR is asking the Obama administration to review the guidelines and bring them into conformity with the Constitution, the ACLU wants Congress to limit the FBI's authority to conduct investigations without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.

"The FBI has considerable authority - and a noted history of abusing that authority," said Michael Macleod-Ball, acting director of the ACLU Washington legislative office. "Its investigative powers must have nothing less than clear, bright and easily understood boundaries."

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the criticism.