1. Your stalker has sent you many messages about the FBI's program of slander and defamation toward you as a "target of interest."
Answer: That's true. He has.
2. Will you relate some of those messages to us, please?
Answer: Yes, one example is the following: "If you know yourself, you'll not be hurt by what is said about you." Another is, "Some people hate you because someone else lied to them about you." Yet one more: "When the battle is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."
3. A couple of these comments seem to convey that you need to accept the FBI's commission of this particular crime.
Answer: They do imply that. But I will observe that there can and should be no normalizing of the slander and defamation in which far right segments of the FBI are engaged against law-abiding American citizens.
4. Why not?
Answer: Slander and defamation, when wielded for political objectives, are not standalone crimes. Rather, they constitute a prelude, an accompaniment and a postlude to violent intent on the part of compromised law enforcement. When corrupt members of the FBI are perpetrating slander and defamation against law-abiding Democrats and journalists, they are seeking to wrest power away from the American electorate. Historically, the scapegoating of innocent people for the political objectives of the far right has been accompanied by violence.
5. Do you believe that the FBI is falsely accusing law-abiding Americans of crimes such as "espionage" and "terrorism" in order to justify violence against them in any context?
Answer: I do. And I need to state that it has taken me a long time to come to this conclusion, which I consider to constitute shameful, appalling, criminal behavior on the part of far right segments within the FBI.
6. Why has it taken such a long time?
Answer: Most of us have certain expectations of the FBI as an honorable federal law enforcement organization. I know I did. And my sense of safety and a just society were partly tied to my trust in both local and federal law enforcement as being benevolent, honest entities. Particularly as a woman, there's a heartfelt desire to see law enforcement as protective and not predatory.
7. What ultimately changed your view?
Answer: Well, again, I need to state that I believe there are many excellent people who work for the FBI -- men and women who are committed to the Constitution and the rule of law. Unfortunately, no organization is particularly competent when it comes to policing itself. And the FBI is no exception in this regard.
What changed my view of the FBI ultimately was my realization the agency leadership was more committed to covering up its crimes of falsified law enforcement reporting against law-abiding Americans than it was to rectifying its malfeasance. The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative and the FBI's affiliated "target of interest" program draw billions of dollars in Congressional budget appropriations yearly. The FBI leadership simply does not want to see those dollar flows cease.
8. Do you believe the FBI has coerced and/or paid for falsified witness statements from people within your acquaintance or your husband's acquaintance regarding serious crimes such as "espionage" or "terrorism"?
Answer: I do believe the FBI has committed these crimes against us, yes. The agency's response to my FOIA request is unlawful in its redactions and omissions. And the scant material that is present within these pages is falsified. So, the FBI and its affiliates are clearly lying, and they're doing so to extremely damaging effect.
9. Why do these lies matter?
Answer: Why does the truth matter? Why does justice matter? Why does the rule of law matter? Why does democracy matter? Why do free and fair elections matter? Why does the Constitution matter?
10. You believe the FBI's engagement in knowingly falsified law enforcement reporting places all of these at risk for everyone in the United States.
Answer: Without question. The "insider threat" that far right segments within the FBI have come to pose toward our civil liberties and human rights as American citizens is extremely serious. FBI corruption affects us all currently, and if we don't publicly address it, it will overtake our democracy altogether.
11. What should happen when FBI "informants" accept pay to lie at the instruction of their FBI handlers -- or lie because they are under active threat by their FBI handlers -- or some combination of both?
Answer: Well, I can say that in my own case, I believe investigators have the talent and the ability to uncover the truth in these instances. And that process is necessary for our understanding of what motivates people to engage in these crimes over both the short term and the longterm, despite the fact that they are so clearly damaging to every aspect of our society.
12. The FBI has 36,000 employees and countless contractors and informants. If the agency's corruption is fully exposed, what should happen to those who have preyed upon the law-abiding American public in the manner you are describing?
Answer: That is a question for the American electorate and the American judicial system. Crimes of falsified law enforcement reporting committed by FBI personnel must be evaluated on a case by case basis. In the long term I think there is a potential model of utilizing the knowledge of FBI personnel in a defensive capacity to protect against autocratic breaches of Americans' right to privacy, free speech, free assembly, freedom of the press, etc.
13. You are suggesting that those within the FBI who have violated Americans' Constitutional liberties may be redirected in the cause of their defense from foreign and/or domestic threats.
Answer: I am. These are complex questions, but this is an analysis that should be undertaken and evaluated with great care. With the right leadership, certain transformations of the agency are possible. For our democracy to be upheld, these transformations are necessary, not optional. So, they merit wise contemplation from the best minds we have among us.
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At the end of my posts regarding the unlawful actions of far-right personnel within the FBI, I will be adding the following statement. The FBI is a deeply divided agency. There are many FBI employees who view their vows to the Constitution with the utmost seriousness and honor, and who strive to defend the fundamentals of our democracy with courage, fortitude and commitment. The fact that some segments of the FBI appear to have embraced a lawless course is not a justification to assail the FBI in general. The safety of FBI agents should be protected, just as the safety of the American citizenry should be protected. As President Joseph R. Biden has so rightly expressed, violence is never justified in any circumstance. The rule of law must always be honored and upheld. It is our shared determination to preserve the civil liberties and human rights of ALL AMERICANS that renders the United States a democracy. We must never abandon this promise. All of our most cherished freedoms depend upon it.
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