Police State America in Good Hands with James Comey

Police State America in Good Hands with James Comey

by Stephen Lendman

He's Obama's FBI director choice. He'll replace current rogue head Robert Mueller. In September, he'll step down.

He's run the agency since September 4, 2001. He succeeded acting head Thomas Pickering. He assumed office days before 9/11.

Appointing him perhaps related to what followed. War on terrorism was declared. So was authorization for war on humanity. Nonbelligerent Afghanistan was attacked.

Doing so was planned months in advance. Wars aren't launched overnight. Extensive planning precedes them. Pretexts justify the unjustifiable. It's standard US policy.

America was never beautiful. Democracy's more illusion than reality. Things are worse now than ever. Freedom hangs by a thread. Humanity's threatened. It's perhaps the most perilous time in world history.

Post-9/11, police state laws and practices shredded constitutional rights. They're on the chopping block for elimination altogether.

Rule of law principles no longer matter. War on Islam was declared. Institutionalized spying followed. Ordinary Americans are targeted. Guilt by accusation became policy. Innocence is no defense.

Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey/Mueller Guidelines gave federal authorities "flexibility (to) protect the Nation from terrorist threats."

None exist. Everyone's vulnerable to abuse. Muslims, anti-war activists, and Occupy Wall Street supporters are especially threatened. So are free expression and other constitutional rights.

In May 2012, Mueller urged Congress to enact greater surveillance powers. He wants unrestricted spying authority. On his watch, the FBI's been responsible for most US terror plots.

Innocent people were maliciously targeted. Muslims are most vulnerable. Sting operations entrapped them. They continue out-of-control. Constitutional rights no longer matter.

Obama wants Comey to continue the worst of lawless Mueller practices. He won't disappoint. He's well chosen for the job. His imperial credentials are well known. He'll keep waging war on freedom. His resume explains why.

From December 2003 - August 2005, he was GW Bush's Deputy Attorney General. From January 2002 - December 2003, he was Southern District of New York US Attorney.

Current SEC head Mary Jo White preceded him. A previous article explained Wall Street's in good hands with her in charge.

Justice Department officials operate extrajudicially. It's always been that way. J. Edgar Hoover began what's now worse. Modern technology and post-9/11 ruthlessness lets current directors do what he couldn't imagine.

Mueller's his modern day incarnation. In some respects it's on steroids. Expect Comey to match him blow for blow. Perhaps he'll escalate things further. His past record gives civil libertarians cause for concern.

He, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and DOJ Office of Legal Council head Jack Goldsmith authorized lawless practices. In 2004, they approved warrantless spying.

In 2005, FISA law followed. It requires warrants. Judicial approval is needed. Authorization depends on probable cause. A "target of the surveillance (must be) a foreign power or agent of a foreign power."

Comey played a murky role in Bush's torture program. He tried having things both ways. DOJ documents showed he expressed reservations.

He was uneasy about enhanced interrogation practices. At the same time, his legal opinion approved them and extraordinary renditions. Rhetoric is meaningless. Policies alone matter.

Comey will partner with CIA chief John Brennan. He's Obama's maestro of murder. He headed Bush's National Counterterrorism Center. He spent 25 years at CIA. He's been involved in the worst of its lawless practices.

Expect civil liberties to erode further on their watch. They're mandated to destroy them.

From 2005 - 2010, Comey was Lockheed Martin general counsel. It's the world's largest weapons maker. It's the largest war profiteer. It benefits from death and destruction. Comey provided legal cover to do it.

In 2010, he became Bridgewater Associates general counsel. Its web site says it "manages approximately $150 billion in global investments for a wide array of institutional clients, including foreign governments and central banks, corporate and public pension funds, university endowments and charitable foundations."

In 2010 and 2011, it "ranked as the largest and best-performing hedge fund manager in the world, and in both 2012 and 2013 Bridgewater was recognized for having earned its clients more than any other hedge fund in the history of the industry."

Comey's also a London-based HSBC Holdings board member. It's a giant banking and financial services firm. It makes money the old-fashioned way. It steals it. It commits fraud and grand theft multiple ways.

In 2012, it paid the largest ever bank-imposed penalty. It settled money laundering charges for $1.9 billion.

It worked with Mexican drug cartels and other crime bosses. Officials involved weren't prosecuted. They operate freely. They prioritize grand theft. So do other major banks. Government officials permit it. They're partners in crime.

As general counsel and board member, Comey was intimately involved. Culpability doesn't matter. It's true throughout Washington. Rogue officials infest the nation's capital. Their records speak for themselves.

Democrats praised Comey's selection. Given their own reprehensible practices, it's no surprise. His Republican and tainted business credentials don't matter. He represents corporate empowerment and imperial America. That's all that counts.

Obama called his nomination "an equally important statement about his intentions in the fight against terrorism."

America has no enemies at home or abroad except the ones it creates. Doing so heightens fear. It furthers Washington's agenda. It furthers its war on humanity. Comey's done it before publicly and privately.

As FBI director, expect further erosion of constitutional rights. They're largely destroyed already. Remaining ones hang by a thread. Perhaps Comey's mandated to finish the job.

He and Brennan have had lots of practice. They menace freedom.  It may end altogether on their watch. It's the new normal.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen [at] sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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