Other People's Mail, p. 59 - 62
Monitoring
Extremist GroupsAbraham H. Foxman, the
national director of the Anti-Defamation
League, says the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice
Department have been "hamstrung" and "can't act
aggressively" in monitoring extremist groups but
fails to note the ADL's role in the imposition
of these guidelines (Op-ed, Aug. 12).
In 1993 the ADL
was accused of
illegally obtaining California police and
government records on a wide array of political
groups. The league escaped criminal prosecution
in return for paying $75,000 to groups that
fight hate crimes in San Francisco.
Mr. Foxman says "if law
enforcement agencies should overstep the line,
we should very swiftly take the authority away."
Law enforcement, with the ADL's help, indeed
crossed the line, resulting in the restrictions
that Mr. Foxman now laments.
Mitja C.
Baumhackl,
Brooklyn, NY
Posted
Wednesday,
March 22, 2000
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