Documents Shed Light on Military Officer Spying on Peace Group

On Dec. 2, 2010, the Associated Press released documents about the U.S. Army’s internal investigation of a former military analyst who spied on a Washington state anti-war group. Obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the documents show John Jacob Towery, a former civilian intelligence specialist at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, spied on members of the Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (OPMR) for two years, and shared this information with local law enforcement. The same day an ACLU report documented government violations of limits on their surveillance powers.

Lawyers for OPMR allege Towry’s military superiors knew about his undercover activities and had violated a federal law that prohibits military personnel from engaging in domestic law enforcement. The redacted documents provide some details about the Army’s internal investigation of the incident, but not the outcome of the inquiry or recommendations made by an investigating officer. One document dated March 2, 2009 shows Army officials upset with Tacoma police for publicly releasing documents about Towry in response to a FOIA request. Another document released suggested “the activities alleged by the Olympia activist were done in support of [local police departments] as a confidential informant/source and not as a member of the [Army].”

An attorney for OPMR, Larry Hildes, said, “We need to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. In a free society, you need to be able to speak out and dissent from the government policy without the government figuring out ways to get retribution and retaliation against you by spying on you.”

Internal Reports Indicate Repeated FISA Violations
 
The federal government has violated the legal constraints on surveillance of U.S. citizens, according to documents released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Dec. 2, 2010. The heavily redacted 900 pages of documents were obtained through a FOIA lawsuit for records about surveillance operations related to the FISA Amendments Act (FAA). The documents include internal reports by the U.S. Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence that confirm “compliance incidents continue to occur,” and recommend additional oversight measures to protect the privacy rights of American citizens.  One report indicates incidents “may be indicative of patterns, trends, or underlying causes that might have broader implications.”
 
Passed by Congress in 1978, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) set the judicial procedures governing the electronic surveillance of U.S. residents allegedly engaged in international terrorism. In 2008, the FISA Amendment Act (FAA) expanded law enforcement’s powers of surveillance. Melissa Goodman, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project, said, “It is imperative that there be more public disclosure about the FAA violations described in these documents. . . as Congress begins to debate whether the FAA should expire or be amended in advance of its 2012 sunset.”