FBI Abused Power to Probe Lefties

President Nixon would be proud: The FBI used bogus terrorism links as a cover to investigate left-wing American groups after the 9/11 attacks, according to an inspector general’s report. The agency also “made false and misleading statements to Congress” about its actions. Between 2001 and 2006, the FBI probed groups like Greenpeace, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and the Thomas Merton Center as “domestic terrorism cases,” a claim based on scant evidence of “potential crimes,” such as trespassing or vandalism, that could have been classified in another way. "We concluded that in several cases, the FBI predication was factually weak and in several cases, there was little indication of any possible federal crime as opposed to local crime,” the report said. It added that there was not evidence to suggest the FBI went after these groups for their political beliefs.