No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

FBI Regrets bug was found during Philadelphia mayoral election

Yahoo News

Pennsylvania is likely to be a swing state in the 2004 election. The election of a Republican mayor in Philadephia this year could have a significant influence on the election results in 2004.

PHILADELPHIA - Acknowledging for the first time that the FBI (news - web sites) hid listening devices in the mayor's office, the bureau's top agent in Philadelphia expressed regret Wednesday that the discovery has created turmoil weeks before a mayoral election.

Speaking at an unscheduled news conference, Special Agent Jeffrey Lampinski offered an apology, but declined to discuss details of the federal investigation

An FBI bug was found on Oct. 7 in the office of incumbent Democrat John Street during a routine security sweep. Since then, agents have subpoenaed records from city agencies, searched the offices of at least two of the mayor's political allies and confiscated three of Street's computers.

The raids have prompted accusations by Democrats that the probe was launched by the Justice Department (news - web sites) to disrupt Street's re-election campaign against Republican businessman Sam Katz.

Lampinski denied those charges Wednesday, saying the timing was dictated by "the facts in the case," and was not of the bureau's choosing.

Three Democratic congressmen who have been critical of the investigation — Robert Brady, Chaka Fattah and Joseph Hoeffel — said they tried to arrange a meeting with Ashcroft to discuss the investigation but were rebuffed.

Lampanski could be telling the truth. The decision to place the bug in the mayors office at this time could be simply dictated by the facts of the case. Or this could be a major dirty trick by the Republicans to smear Street just before the election. Karl rove is known to have "discovered" a bug planted in his office just before a Texas election, but the FBI later stated that he probably planted it himself in order to discover it. The Republican Rove was working for won that election.

Right now we have nothing to help us decide which of the two options is true except the sterling reputation this administration has for honest and upright dealings and the way Ashcroft was so reassuring when the Congressmen went to talk to him.



posted by Richard at 5:36 PM