DEA Special Operations Division: Criminal Cases from Intel Intercepts

[Continuum]

REPORT: DEA Covering Up Spying Used To Investigated Americans

REPORT: DEA Covering Up Spying Used To Investigated Americans

www.huffingtonpost.com

Some scary stuff coming out today. This is from the Huffington Post story today, but there are many news sources reporting on this. If they are using NSA intercepts, that should start to spark some outrage, I would hope.

"A secretive U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit is funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records to authorities across the nation to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans.

Although these cases rarely involve national security issues, documents reviewed by Reuters show that law enforcement agents have been directed to conceal how such investigations truly begin - not only from defense lawyers but also sometimes from prosecutors and judges.

The undated documents show that federal agents are trained to "recreate" the investigative trail to effectively cover up where the information originated, a practice that some experts say violates a defendant's Constitutional right to a fair trial. If defendants don't know how an investigation began, they cannot know to ask to review potential sources of exculpatory evidence - information that could reveal entrapment, mistakes or biased witnesses."

 

[Hieronymous]

Is the toilet paper at the NSA printed with the US flag ?
The bastards are certainly wiping their arses with the star spangled banner. The land of the free - yeah right :roll:

To make a living out of spying on your own countrymen is one of the most cowardly contemptuous acts I can think of.

How can this not be seen as an act of war on the citizens of the US and the rest of the world for that matter ?

Shoot down a flying drone get $100 reward

 

[Umantis]

another reference, now by Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-dea-sod-idUSBRE97409R20130805

hopefully news of this inadvertent revelation can be understood and used by defenders to counteract this ill-gotten evidence, and even invite real consequences for corrupt law enforcement practices, such that real justice can be restored to our justice system, and faith to our system of government.

 

[Continuum]

It does mention in the Huffington Post story that many of the cases that are initiated by tips from intel sources end up settling through plea bargain, and in cases where the defendants decide to go to trial sometimes charges are dropped rather than reveal how the case was started in pre-trial evidence disclosure. Can you imagine if they had to release hundreds or thousands of people incarcerated for drugs by reviewing those cases on appeal?

 

[pau]

wow, I just read about this today:
where does that intercept info go?

This really makes me sad about the government .... after this, it's going to be almost impossible to believe what they say about privacy rights anymore.

 

[ZenSpice]

Tap drips slow but sure
Water forms a puddle where it lands
Best not to step in it

(feeling a bit more "Zen" than usual today)

 

[headphoneperson]

Yeah, these latest fast and furious revelations about the NSA, the DEA, the take-down of TOR mail, the closing of Lavabit, the compromise of Freedom Hosting, Snowden, Manning, etc. etc. have been, in toto, one of the greatest American sucker punches since McCarthyism or the Japanese internment camps.

It is embarrassing to be an American.

I am seriously considering renouncing my US citizenship and appealing for asylum in hyperspace. I only wonder whether the elves would have me...