US Department of Justice - Immigration Services - Homeland Security Watch

Liberty        Burning

WACO April 19, 1993 

Government Abuse and Terrorism Blog        

USDOJ FBI Carnivore DCS1000 snoop software to continue munching away at your internet email Privacy Until there's nothing left. 

The Office and Department of Homeland Security H.R. 5005

Are we Goose Stepping

AT LEAST 15 OF THE 19 SEPTEMBER 11th TERRORIST MURDERS SHOULD HAVE HAD THEIR VISAS DENIED

  Click for Copies of Their Applications (in pdf format) and the Reasons Why

The September 11th Terrorist Murder of 3,000 Innocent Americans and the Setting up of Sleeper Cells in America... Brought to you Through the Indolence and Corruption of the US Department of Justice and Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Homeland Security Immigration Supervisor Found Guilty of Selling Green Cards after More than a Decade of Government Inaction

4 December 2006

(c) DOJgov.net Newswire

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A former Department of Homeland Security supervisor pleaded guilty to accepting at least $600,000 in bribes to provide fraudulent citizenship documents to hundreds of Asian immigrants.

Robert T. Schofield, 57, of Fairfax, who once supervised as many as 50 employees in Citizenship and Immigration Services, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to bribery and aiding and abetting the illegal procurement of citizenship.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Robert T. Schofield, 57, was arrested and originally charged with taking more than $8.1 million in bribes to sell phony green cards.

Immigration experts say the Schofield case shows how five years after the attacks of Sept. 11, the agency charged with screening foreign visitors remains deeply flawed. Charging documents claimed that prior to his arrest at his Fairfax office last summer, the government had investigated Schofield for some ten years, for numerous allegations that he was taking bribes.

In 1991, Schofield, then an INS special agent, botched an investigation of an Asian brothel in Washington after he allegedly had an affair with an informant.

After he was demoted, Schofield fled to East Asia, where he spent more than $36,000 on two government credit cards.  According to former colleagues, Schofield was coaxed back to Washington and was able to keep his job as an immigration application examiner. 

Never complaining and displaying "agency loyalty," Schofield rose through the ranks until he became a supervisor in charge of approving citizenship.

Mr. Schofield was so overt that the day after he started his new job, law enforcement sources and colleagues say, a line of beautiful Asian women formed outside his new office.

Authorities say that over a five-year period, 200 immigrants each paid up to $50,000 for the fake documents.  

“That guy should have gone to jail a long time ago,” said Jim Goldman, a former INS director in Miami.  Whether many were spies or terrorists is unknown and the fact remains that until his performance became so overt and embarrassing that action finally had to be taken, Homeland Security Immigration did nothing about his criminal behavior.

Inaction and apathy at Homeland Security was the culmination of Schofield's ten earlier years.  During that period, Immigration and Naturalization was a Bureau of the United States Department of Justice.  Nothing was done to stop him there either.

Former Immigration Services - Homeland Security supervisor Arrested for Selling Citizenship Documents

27 October 2006

(c) DOJgov.net Newswire

In the midst of a constant terrorist threat and a corrupt Immigration division of Homeland Security (Formerly part of the US Department of Justice), a former Immigration supervisor was arrested for selling citizenship to ineligible aliens and placing America at further risk of terrorism.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcus Asner said Jimmie Ortega was the central player in a scheme that awarded at least 60 phony citizenships in return for bribes of between $1,500 and $4,000.

"We believe we are scratching the surface," Mr. Asner said, of what had been uncovered so far in a 10-month-old investigation of whether Mr. Ortega teamed with others to grant citizenship to people who could not otherwise pass tests.

Selling citizenship and Green Cards along with approving visas without proper background checks has been endemic in both Immigration Services/Homeland Security and when it was called the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U.S. Department of Justice.  Whistleblowers to these activities have been routinely brutalized and terminated, while upper management turned a blind eye to anything but the most overt activities, as long as the perpetrators were considered "loyal to the agency."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra C. Freeman, ordered Mr. Ortega held without bail, citing what she said seemed to be a lack of trust and candor.  This was not done because Mr. Ortega was putting America at risk.  Rather, the decision was made after discovering that Mr. Ortega was essentially a bigamist, with two families and two sets of children.

A current immigration supervisor also was charged in the citizenship case, along with several brokers and people accused of paying bribes to become citizens. The prosecutor said the government had several cooperating witnesses and extensive telephone records linking Mr. Ortega to those who paid bribes.

The prosecutor said bribes cleared the way for people otherwise not entitled to citizenship to become legal Americans, without being interviewed or demonstrating they could speak English or pass the required civics and U.S. history examinations.  Their receiving prior Green Cards legally or through prior financial bribes was never explored.

Mr. Ortega's lawyer, Lee Ginsberg, said his client would not flee, in part because his $4,000 in monthly pension benefits might be placed at risk.

Mr. Ortega retired as a supervisory district adjudications officer with the naturalization unit of the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, 26 Federal Plaza in New York. 

Mr. Ortega began employment on or about 1995, the same time that Caryl B. Leventhal started working in the same facility, when INS was part of the US Department of Justice.  Mr. Ortega kept his mouth shut, accepted his bribes, received promotions and currently collects a substantial pension. 

Caryl Leventhal was a whistleblower to these activities.  Typically, she received physical brutalization, termination, death threats and threat of arrest and prosecution (by the US Attorney's Office) for not remaining silent to activities that enabled the terrorism of September 11, 2001.   

Homeland Security does nothing about high quality fake IDs sold in New York City to illegals and potential terrorists
 

DOJgov.net Newswire Dec 8, 2005

Less than four months after www.dojgov.net broke the story that immigration documents were still being openly sold by Homeland Security Immigration personnel, 26 Federal Plaza NYC (see next article), The New York Sun published an expose on the open selling of high quality documents on the streets of New York City.

The ease at which high quality counterfeit Green Cards, Social Security Cards and other documents could be purchased was made frighteningly clear, although the federal government constantly reiterates its desire to tackle document fraud.
 

Roosevelt Avenue in Queens has become an international market, with fake green cards costing $100.00 in an open air bazaar. According to The Sun, this business is booming.

Local dealers said most of their clients were immigrants from Latin America, but also include illegals from all over the world.

The Department of Homeland Security said it is aware of the problem and claims to be working with local enforcement agencies to prevent it.  The president of the National Border Patrol Council, representing more than 10,000 border patrol agents, T.J. Bonner, said. "As long as there's a demand for these documents and the documents continue to be accepted, people will be out there supplying."

Despite increasing immigration enforcement on the border, the inflows of illegal immigrants last year for the first time outnumbered legal immigrants to America, according to research by the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington. The organization estimates the total of illegal immigrants at 11 million nationwide and 525,000 in New York City.

Mr. Bonner of the border patrol group said he was "not very impressed" with the federal and local response. "They have had such a pathetic showing in interior enforcement that it's been a joke for several years," he said. "Politicians like to pretend we can have open borders for laborers but somehow seal the borders off against criminals and terrorists. It's a laughable notion, but they actually try and sell that notion."

Immigration Services of Homeland Security illegally selling Passport Stamps

Whistleblower employees like Caryl B. Leventhal (see www.Justice-Denied.net) have been attempting to stop practices that invite terrorists into America since late 1995.   They have been met with termination, threat of death and threat of arrest and prosecution (by the US Attorney's Office) if they didn't keep quiet.

2004-2005 - Immigration Services is now hidden away in Homeland Security, but it's "terrorist friendly" practices are still protected by the US Department of Justice's US Attorney's Office.  They are the shield that runs interference for bureaucratic indolence, corruption and just plain stupidity

March 1, 2003 - US Department of Justice and Immigration and Naturalization Service Plays Musical Chairs with our Lives by Bogus Reorganization

February 9, 2003 - The Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 - The Secret US Department of Justice Initiated USA Patriot Act II

Bush Panel: FBI failing as counterterrorism agency

Feb 14, 2005 (AP)

WASHINGTON - The FBI ``has many miles to travel'' in its attempt to remake itself as a topflight counterterrorism agency and the outcome is in doubt, according to a presidential commission.

Intelligence operations are not structured to ensure that information is shared within the FBI, the panel said in a report issued Thursday.

It also warned of potentially ominous consequences of ongoing turf battles and lack of cooperation between the CIA and FBI on terrorism cases that shift from overseas to American soil.

``The failure of CIA and FBI to cooperate and share information adequately on such cases could potentially create a gap in the coverage of these threats, like the one the September 11 attack plotters were able to exploit,'' the commission said.

The latest report on U.S. intelligence failures was gloomier than its predecessors about the FBI's prospects for remaking itself following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The new report raised questions about the direction Mueller is taking, and it recommended overhauling the intelligence set-up that has been in place barely a year. ``In our view, the FBI has not constructed its intelligence program in a way that will promote integrated intelligence efforts, and its ambitions have led it into unnecessary new turf battles with the CIA,'' the panel said.

FBI officials refused to comment on the report beyond a brief statement.

The FBI remains a crime-fighting agency in many respects, the panel said. Field offices put law enforcement ahead of intelligence-gathering because, as one agent told the commission, ``Bin Laden is never going to Des Moines.''

Though there are more analysts than ever, the FBI still tends to treat them as second-class citizens, the panel said. It identified one instance in which they were given clerical tasks unimaginable for an FBI agent to help clear up a backlog.

The panel said those problems raised an overarching question: whether the FBI's latest effort to build an intelligence capability can overcome the resistance that scuttled past reforms. ``In our view, the effort this time is more determined, but the outcome is still in doubt,'' it said.

Click for Editorial and Full Story

INS Workers Probed in Terrorist Friendly Corruption Scam

DOJgov.net newswire - February 14, 2003

Investigators are conducting a probe into another possible security breach that has allowed terrorists to operate freely in America, set up sleeper cells and commit acts of terrorism.

Federal authorities are investigating whether corrupt Immigration and Naturalization Service workers at 26 Federal Plaza New York City helped a Pakistani man obtain authentic immigration documents for customers willing to shell out up to $27,000.

Mohammad Yaqoob Bhatti, 45, pleaded not guilty to possessing false identification yesterday.

Federal prosecutors charged three other Pakistani men with buying permanent-resident cards and passports embossed with special INS stamps.  Court records reveal that these are the documents prized by terrorists because they are then capable of traveling freely.

In at least two cases, Bhatti provided buyers with a new identity that allowed them to get “replacement” foreign passports from the Pakistani Embassy with their own pictures on them.

He then accompanied the men to the INS office in lower Manhattan, where an official applied a stamp that indicates the holder is a permanent resident.

Since 1996, former US Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service employee and whistleblower Caryl B. Leventhal has been attempting to stop this type of activity, including the sale of Green Cards.  Her efforts earned her brutalization, termination and death threats.

In 1999, she published her website www.Justice-Denied.net which chronicles her ongoing battle to keep America safe from terrorists and a corrupt, indolent and vindictive US Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service.  

Nov 9, 2002: Click for Pentagon and F.B.I Join Forces to Investigate Americans

INS Actions aid Muhammad and Malvo in Murder Spree that Kills 10 in Maryland and Virginia

DOJgov.net Newswire October 27, 2002

Both psychologically and physically, John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17 were joined at the hip. Muhammad was the Nation of Islam Al Qaeda sympathizer who chose that name as a sign of kinship with the Arab terrorists who murdered over 3,000 innocent Americans on September 11, 2001. Malvo was the sociopathic illegal alien from Jamaica who the US Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service set loose on the American people.

They were bound by a hatred of Americans and in a very real sense, fed off each other to form a lethal combination of terrorism.   

But on October 24, 2002 the Associated Press reported that a Justice Department official defended the Immigration and Naturalization Service's decision to set John Lee Malvo free even though the Jamaican teenager faced possible deportation.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, rejected criticism voiced by Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who attacked the INS decision. Tancredo made his charge shortly after Malvo, 17, and John Allen Muhammad, 41, were described by the leaders of a state and federal police task force as the two individuals responsible for the deaths of 10 people in a series of sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area.

The Justice Department official said the agency acted properly in Malvo's case because it does not require the posting of bonds for juvenile immigrants who are arrested with their parents.

In this case, Una James, Malvo's mother, who was also accused of entering the United States illegally with her son, was required to post a $1,500 bond, pending a Nov. 20 deportation hearing. Malvo, then 16, was released into the custody of his mother, which is standard INS policy, the official said.

James and Malvo were cited by a Border Patrol officer in January for illegally entering the United States after Bellingham, Wash., police investigated an incident at a homeless shelter where they were living. They told the officer that they had arrived in the United States as stowaways on a ship filled with Asians, Tancredo said.

Although the Border Patrol officer who cited them in Bellingham listed them as stowaways, the Justice Department official said they were not stowaways under U.S. law. A stowaway does not have the right to be released on bond, the official said. The Justice official said that after their arrest, another INS official reclassified their arrest to allow them to be released, pending their November hearing on the illegal-entry charges. This was done, even though the officer who arrested them described the two as likely to flee.

This is standard INS practice to reduce caseload, even at the expense of safety to Americans.

In the legal profession, judicial ethics is little more than the appearance of propriety. Put simply, fingers can't be pointed at you  as long as legal technicalities can be manipulated to validate your actions. It has nothing to do with common sense, justice, safety or not acting like a bureaucratic robot. And since the USDOJ INS writes their own legal guidelines, they build in clauses to cloak themselves behind this appearance of propriety whenever things go wrong.
 

GI Joe Toy, Strip Searched at LA International Airport

DOJgov.net Newswire Oct 13, 2002

Travelers who frequent US airports might feel a bit safer knowing that the US Government's new and efficient war on terror found and confiscated an M16 rifle being brought on an airplane at LA International Airport. It was a two inch long plastic GI Joe gun being held by none other than a toy replica of GI Joe himself.

Judy Powell, 55, from Walton on the Hill, Surrey, England, bought the GI Joe toy in Las Vegas and packed it in her carry-on luggage. But the newly upgraded and federalized security staff earned their guaranteed job security, 40% raise in pay and lavish federal pensions by refusing to let Powell on board the plane with the tiny replica rifle.

"Security examined the toy as if it was going to shoot them and looked at the rifle," Powell reported.

An airport spokesman explained the incident by saying "We have instructions to confiscate anything that looks like a weapons or a replica. If GI Joe was carrying a replica, then it had to be taken from him."

The two inch plastic toy will be used to boost screeners' percentages of confiscated "dangerous weapons." After much to do, the disarmed GI Joe figure was then allowed to continue on his travels with its owner.

Head of Immigration and Naturalization Service Throws in Towel

DOJgov.net Newswire August 17, 2002

Washington - James Ziglar, the beleaguered head of America's Immigration & Naturalization Service yesterday said he's throwing in the towel after a series of embarrassments linked to Sept. 11.

Mr. Ziglar came on the job just a month before Sept. 11, but took heat when immigration officials approved visas for two of the hijackers six months after they died in the attack on America.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has long been known for corruption, indolence and brutally crushing whistleblowers attempting to stop endemic policies that can only be referred to as "terrorist friendly."  As the new head, Mr. Ziegler became the "fall guy" poster child for a malfunctioning agency that some people feel has become the biggest threat to American safety.

And while its enforcement functions are to be shifted to the new Department of Homeland Security, few people believe that anything will really change other than the shuffling of chairs.

Caryl B. Leventhal, a former USDOJ INS employee and one of the first whistleblowers to the illegal selling of Green Cards and processing paperwork without proper background checks was not surprised.  The brutalized and now disabled former employee reaffirmed that for years the primary mission of the INS has been silencing any dedicated employee attempting to be critical or attempting productive change.  "Everything that matters is loyalty to the agency and keeping your mouth shut.  They are protected by their parent agency's bureaucrats in the US Department of Justice and judicially shielded by the USDOJ  US Attorney's Office," Mrs. Leventhal affirmed.

But officials denied that Ziglar - a former Senate sergeant-at-arms - was chosen as as the latest scapegoat and forced out.  President Bush, who has defended him in the past, thanked him for his "service at this very challenging time."

In a letter to Bush, Ziglar said he believes "the record will show we have made substantial progress," but he wants to go into the private sector by year's end.

The Arab terrorist responsible for the deaths of 3,000 Americans were invited in by the INS.  And many feel that "sleeper cells" heavily composed of INS naturalized US citizens, exist in the United States and will commit more terrorism in the future.

For More, see www.Justice-Denied.net

US Department of Justice Immigration &  Naturalization Service Loses Enough Guns to Arm a Regiment of Terrorists

DOJgov.net newswire August 7, 2002 - After an audit, the FBI has admitted that the US Department of Justice lost track of hundreds of weapons and laptop computers.  Many of the 400 lost computers may have contained classified information.

According to USDOJ inspector general Glenn A. Fine, at least a few of the 775 weapons were recovered after they were used in armed robberies and at least one was registered as evidence in a homicide.

Most of the weapons belonged to Immigration and Naturalization Service and FBI.

Before last year, the FBI had not taken a complete inventory of laptops and weapons in almost a decade, despite an agency policy requiring one every two years, the investigation found. Last year's inventory was prompted when other agencies, including the INS, reported large numbers of missing weapons.

Fine reported in March 2001 that an audit of the INS found the service had lost about 500 weapons.  Until caught in the act of lying by auditors, the Immigration and Naturalization Service admitted to losing only 16 weapons.

The audit prompted criticism from Congress. 
"This problem has sparked consequences, in criminal acts and danger to national security,'' said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee. According to the reports, the problem of missing guns is a mess, and it's been that way for years. It stems from weak discipline, lax standards, tardy reporting and few, if any, consequences.''

Regarding weapons, the inspector general's report found the INS and the FBI reported losses of 539 and 212 weapons, respectively, during the time frame of the audit, October 1999 to January 2002. The FBI reported an additional 211 missing weapons outside that period.

Police in Philadelphia and Tampa, Fla., recovered INS weapons that were used to commit armed robberies.

It's Not just the US Department of Justice's INS that allowed terrorists to murder 4,000 Americans ... it's their FBI that has placed America at Risk

On June 2, 2002, the normally understated New York Times' headline of June 2, 2002 shouted "Wary of Risk, Slow to Adapt, F.B.I. Stumbles in Terror War".   An extract reads:
 
WASHINGTON, June 1 When the director of the F.B.I., Robert S. Mueller III, acknowledged on Wednesday that the agency had missed warning signals on terrorism, he stunned many Americans. But his acknowledgment was not news to some veterans of the agency or lawmakers who now say they treated the F.B.I. with too much deference for too many years.

These officials say the F.B.I., despite efforts to strengthen its counterterrorism programs over the last decade, and despite hefty increases in its budget, never developed a nimble enough structure, analytic capability or sense of mission to foil terrorist plots before they were carried out.

Interviews with nearly two dozen current and former F.B.I., Justice Department (news - web sites) and intelligence officials, many of them at a senior level, suggest that Mr. Mueller faces many hurdles in fulfilling his promise to transform the agency's rigid, risk-averse culture into the kind of terror prevention agency he foresees. Some officials even question whether the bureau can be salvaged, or whether it should be broken apart so that the government can create a domestic intelligence agency separate from the F.B.I.

Editor's Note: Money has never been an issue in this lavishly financed agency.  On the other hand, lack of funds and the myth of low pay has been the chronic excuse of both the Immigration and Naturalization Service and FBI.  That elected officials accepted this reasoning displayed years of their own cowardice, apathy and playing to the electorate.

The true reason for US Department of Justice failures can be seen in attitude.  These Justice Department Bureaus react with viciousness and threats to employees pointing out problems.  And they are backed by their USDOJ parent in cover-up.  Shuffling people around in a game of musical desks and calling it "reorganization" is used to mollify the public.  It's the equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to compensate for fundamental flaws.

Let's not forget that Since September 11, 2000, NOT ONE corrupt and apathetically dysfunctional employee placing Americas at risk has been terminated.  Loyalty to the agency is the paramount criteria for promotion (See www.Justice-Denied.net) and because of this attitude, none of us are safe.

For a full copy of the above New York Times article in PDF format click: Placing America at Risk.  Right Click on hyperlink and then left click to download.

May 30, 2002: US DEPARTMENT of JUSTICE IMMIGRATION and NATURALIZATION SERVICE TELLS NY POLICE TO LET SUSPECTED TERRORISTS WALK THE STREETS. CLICK FOR MORE

Terror Probe Rips US Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service for Continuing Flaws placing America at Risk

May 21, 2002 -- DOJgov.net Newswire - The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996  mandated the creation of a database that stored information about international students.  And yet, it has just been revealed that this tracking system for foreign students is not only inadequate, but won't be ready by a January 2003 deadline.

To date, the US Department of Justice and their Immigration and Naturalization still seems to be more interested in silencing and threatening their whistleblowers.  Correspondingly, they continue in their penchant for protecting corrupt and indolent tenured employees who remain "loyal" to the agency. (See www.Justice-Denied.net)

May 17, 2002 - Americans are Murdered by Terrorists and the US Department of Justice is on the Scene... to Pave their Way.  CLICK FOR MORE

IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE APPROVES VISA FOR WORLD TRADE CENTER MURDERER, SIX MONTHS AFTER SEPTEMBER 11th TERRORISM

DOJgov.net newswire - March 12, 2002

The Immigration and Naturalization Service approved the visa of World Trade Center Terrorist Mohammed Atta even though he had re-entered the United States several times on expired visas.  To make matters worse, Atta was already on an immigration "watch list" when the visa was approved.

The extensions were approved in July and August of 2001 and in spite of complicity in the murder of over 3,000 innocent Americans, they sent out an approval letter to the Huffman Aviation School in Venice Florida on March 5, 2002.  The formal approval mailing of Atta's visa, occurred six months after his terrorist act.  INS blamed a large backlog of data in old processing equipment.

The visa approvals staggered lawmakers who have called for the nation’s immigration laws to be toughened in the wake of the terrorist attacks.  These are the same Congressional lawmakers who for years produced investigative reports of INS corruption and inefficiency, but failed to follow up by holding the USDOJ INS accountable.

“The fact that the INS sent out two letters regarding the student visas of two known terrorist hijackers — a full six months after the terrible events of September 11th — is outrageous,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California told MSNBC news. “My fear is that it is still business as usual at INS even in the aftermath of the most devastating terror attack on U.S. soil.”

Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate judiciary subcommittee on immigration, said approval of the visas “clearly demonstrates the immediate need for improvements in the data systems and the visa operations at the INS through the Senate’s swift enactment” of legislation she has co-sponsored with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

Since 1996, Congress has passed laws requiring the Immigration and Naturalization Service to provide better follow up.  One of these, the "llegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996," mandated the creation of a database that stored information about international students.  Only now, five years later and in response to the September 11th terrorism is the INS allegedly beginning to respond.  In 1997, The Congressional Cox Commission indicted the INS for corruption and inefficiency but walked away from the problem.

To date, USDOJ INS has shown little respect for Congressional legislation.  They have responded by requesting more people and money while employees attempting change were met with punitive actions, threats and brutality (see www.justice-denied.net).

Transportation Security Administration in Consort with USDOJ Immigration & Naturalization Service Undercuts Hopes for Airline Safety

Dec 30, 2001 - DOJgov.net newswire

After expectations were raised relative to the takeover of airport security by the federal government, its primary line of defense has been seriously undercut by their decision to retain incompetent and uneducated non-citizen screeners.  Broken in front page headlines today, The New York Times wrote of the public's high expectations that the federal takeover of airport security would lead to a new breed of airport security screener, one who was better educated and more qualified to assume a position of increased responsibility.

Transportation officials stated that they planned to work closely with the USDOJ's Immigration and Naturalization Service to rapidly push these dubiously qualified screeners through for citizenship, in order to comply with recent anti-terrorist legislation.  It should be noted that since 1995, the INS processed Green Card applications in an environment of corruption, indolence and cover-up.  These activities resulted in tens of thousands of criminals and potential terrorists gaining US citizenship.  It brutalized employees attempting to stop this behavior, and pressed the US Attorney's office to silence and intimidate them through threat of arrest and prosecution (see www.justice-denied.net).

Responses ranged from dismay to outrage:  "We're dealing with very sophisticated and trained individuals who are trying to blow up our commercial aircraft," said James E. Hall, recent chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.  "These screeners are going to be an important line of defense, and it seems to me we should have higher educational standards for them.  If all we're doing is recycling the existing screeners, why have we made this tremendous investment in creating a federal work force? It sends the wrong message." [editor: Federalization of screeners has given these people a 40% increase in salary and a guarantee of job security no matter how they perform] 

"What we really need are people who understand how terrorists work, who can spot a false passport, who can ask the right questions of the right people," said Isaac Yeffet, former director of general security for El Al Airlines.  "Every screener is holding on his shoulders a 747 full of passengers.  It is impossible to imagine that they would have dropped out of high school."

Without Congressional Approval, USDOJ Lays Groundwork for National ID Cards Click for More

Washington Post Dec 17 2001 - Technology specialists at the Justice Department and General Services Administration have acknowledged they are working with motor vehicle officials and commercial vendors to develop a standard for some sort of ID system, mandatory or not. Click for More

FBI Confirms 'Magic Lantern' Project Exists

By Elinor Mills Abreu

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) Dec 12, 2001 - An FBI spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that the U.S. government is working on a controversial Internet spying technology, code-named ``Magic Lantern'', which could be used to eavesdrop on computer communications by "suspected criminals."

``It is a workbench project'' that has not yet been deployed, said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson. ``We can't discuss it because it's under development.''

The FBI has already acknowledged that it uses software that records keystrokes typed into a computer to obtain passwords that can be used to read encrypted e-mail and other documents as part of criminal investigations.

Magic Lantern reportedly would allow the agency to plant a Trojan horse keystroke logger on a target's PC by sending a computer virus over the Internet, rather than require physical access to the computer as is now the case.

When asked if Magic Lantern would require a court order for the FBI to use it, as existing keystroke logger technology does, Bresson said: ``Like all technology projects or tools deployed by the FBI it would be used pursuant to the appropriate legal process.''

Major anti-virus vendors this week said they would not voluntarily cooperate with the FBI and said their products would continue to be updated to detect and prevent viruses, regardless of their origin, unless there was a legal order otherwise.

Doing so would anger customers and alienate non-U.S. customers and governments, they said, adding that there had been no requests by the FBI to ignore any viruses.

While the FBI requires a court order to install its technology, formerly called ``Carnivore,'' some service providers reportedly comply voluntarily, while court orders are relatively easy to get, civil libertarians argue.

``If we were at war the government would be able to require technology companies to cooperate, I believe, in a number of ways, including getting back door access to information and computer systems.''

DOJgov.net Addendum: Details are sketchy, but Magic Lantern reportedly works by masquerading as an innocent e-mail attachment that will insert FBI spyware inside your computer.

It's not just Osama Bin Laden.  The US Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service bears a large part of the blame for Terrorism in the United States and Destruction of the World Trade Center. Click on Graphic Above.  

Exposed Jan 10 2004 - Under the US Department of Justice, the Newark New Jersey Immigration and Naturalization Service was a Terrorist Friendly Bribery Heaven.  Click for More.

9/11 Mastermind: Original Plan Involved 10 Planes and Combined Attacks When US Department of Justice was Using its Resources to Silence Whistleblowers

DOJgov.net Newswire September 21, 2003

WASHINGTON - Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, has told American interrogators that he first discussed the plot with Osama bin Laden in 1996 and that the original plan called for hijacking five commercial jets on each U.S. coast before it was modified several times, according to interrogation reports reviewed by The Associated Press.

At the same time, the US Department of Justice and INS were using their resources to threaten, terminate and silence USDOJ employee and Whistleblower Caryl Leventhal. While an employee of the USDOJ's Immigration and Naturalization Service, Ms. Leventhal attempted to stop the selling of Green Cards and issuing of visas without proper background checks.

Ms. Leventhal was physically threatened, brutalized, terminated and threatened with arrest and prosecution if she didn't stop in her efforts to keep terrorist sleeper cells from being set up in America.

Mohammed also divulged that, in its final stages, the hijacking plan called for as many as 22 terrorists and four planes in a first wave, followed by a second wave of suicide hijackings that were to be aided possibly by al-Qaida allies in southeast Asia, according to the reports.

Over time, bin Laden scrapped various parts of the Sept. 11 plan, including attacks on both coasts and hijacking or bombing some planes in East Asia, Mohammed is quoted as saying in reports that shed new light on the origins and evolution of the plot of Sept. 11, 2001.

On the Net: www.Justice-Denied.net

US Office of Special Counsel investigation finds that USDOJ INS whistleblower warned of "terrorist friendly" activities in the US Department of Justice

DOJgov.net Newswire - March 30 2002

During 1995-1996 and as an employee of the US Department of Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service, Caryl Leventhal attempted to stop the subsequently documented corruption, inefficiency and indolence that allowed tens of thousands of criminals and potential terrorists to legally enter America and set up shop.

US Office Of Special Counsel

"This goes beyond what they did to me.  The Immigration & Naturalization Service has put America at Risk."

www.Justice-Denied.net Newswire September 19, 2001

Undaunted by recent acts of terrorism in the United States, the US Department of Justice's beleaguered Immigration and Naturalization Service continues in their efforts to protect and mask a virtual "open door" policy allowing criminals and potential terrorists to enter the United States and even become naturalized.

Caryl B. Leventhal, former INS employee at 26 Federal Plaza NYC was brutalized and replaced for her efforts in battling rampant corruption during the period of Citizenship USA 1995-1996.  In the ensuing years, the Immigration and Naturalization Service in consort with Mary Jo White's Second Circuit US Attorney's Office, made every effort to silence her warnings.  This included threat of imprisonment and even a threat of death.

"It may sound silly, but I'm simply fighting for an apology from these people" said the intrepid Ms. Leventhal, now disabled with Multiple Sclerosis.  "If an organization like the USDOJ INS can't even do this, you know that in spite of any politically beneficial announcements, they have no intentions of effectively implementing any productive changes at all.  This goes beyond what they did to me.  The Immigration & Naturalization Service has put America at risk."

On September 18th, Mr. Leventhal - continuing the fight for his disabled wife - received a letter from Ms. Sue E. Armstrong, INS Internal Audit, Washington DC.  The latter refused to address any issues concerning five years of INS corruption and cover-up.

"I'm probably going to be called up for active duty any day" said Mr. Leventhal who holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in a State Command.  "I'll be defending the people of America while these INS bastards will be sitting on their rumps further undermining the effort and my wife lives in fear of further retaliation."  For latest events, go to: http://justice-denied.net/Congressletter-10.htm        

WHITE HOUSE TAKES ACTION TO SECURE JUSTICE FOR TERMINALLY ILL USDOJ INS CORRUPTION FIGHTER

www.Justice-Denied.net newswire June 6, 2001

Responding to an impassioned appeal to First Lady Laura Bush from Caryl Leventhal's husband Michael, the White House has gotten actively involved in her five year battle for an apology.  "Caryl and I just had a really good feeling about Mrs. Bush" Mr. Leventhal explained, "and I knew that if she could be reached with an appeal from the heart, the First Lady would show concern and compassion."

On June 2nd, Mr. Leventhal received a White House reply from the First Lady's Director of Correspondence stating that information was being turned over to the White House Staff for follow-up and they could contact the White House Liaison to the US Department of Justice for further information.

"Caryl was simply overjoyed.  Over these past five years of battling for a simple apology, my disabled wife has faced harassment and death threat by USDOJ INS employees and threat of arrest and prosecution by the Southern District's Chief of the US Attorney's Office Criminal Division, Alan R. Kaufman.  All this to frighten her into shutting up, crawling into a corner and waiting to die.  What really seems to bother them is her website, www.Justice-Denied.net, which is why Mary Jo White's Southern District US Attorney's office attempted to censor it through threats to myself and terminally ill wife."

"With an active investigation set up at the request of John Ashcroft and now backing from a compassionate Executive Branch, maybe Caryl will get the recognition and apology for mistreatment she received for efforts to curtail the rampant corruption that existed in the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 26 Federal Plaza (NYC) during Citizenship USA (1995-1996).  Maybe she can find piece and enjoy the time she has left.  She deserves that much."

USDOJ INS EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY SECTION ATTEMPTS TO SHUT DOWN CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION

www.Justice-denied.net newswire May 12, 2001

In light of information brought to the attention of John Ashcroft  in March 2001 and the opening up of an investigation by the USDOJ's Immigration and Naturalization Services Office of Internal Audit, harassment of Caryl Leventhal has been renewed.  Ms. Leventhal is disabled with Multiple Sclerosis.  Since filing her 1996 complaint of Retaliation for battling confirmed corruption, this brutalized former USDOJ INS employee has been the victim of confirmed death threats, intimidation and withholding of evidence by INS bureaucrats. 

A further statement on the decline of American liberty was received by Ms. Leventhal on May 10, 2001. It came from D. Diane Weaver - Director of USDOJ INS' Equal Employment Opportunity Section.  Under Ms. Weaver's leadership this was the area most responsible for withholding of evidence and obstruction of justice.

Ms. Weaver's response to John Ashcroft's investigation (headed up by Stephen W. Schenk - Deputy Director USDOJ INS Internal Audit Investigations) was to inform Ms. Leventhal that the matter was closed and implied there would be no cooperation on her part or that of her department.  http://justice-denied.net/Congressletter-04.htm

When interviewed, Ms. Leventhal's husband Michael remarked, "Heavy-handed tyrants of the world should follow events as they unfold.  They can learn the psychology of 'tyranny with a smile', from the experts." 

www.Justice-denied.net newswire April 14, 2001

In response to pleas made to Congress, President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, Caryl Leventhal -- scorned USDOJ/INS corruption fighter -- was informed that an investigation has begun by the INS Office of Internal Audit in Washington DC.  After a five year battle involving allegations of inaction, lies, death threats and intimidation, Mr. Leventhal responded,  "I am not not surprised by this type of correspondence.  At first glance, it is cold, formal and supplies no background information whatever as to who even requested a review by INS' Office of Internal Audit.  Initially,  it is typical of a US federal bureaucracy long devoid of humanity and respect for American citizens as human beings."

"Caryl is one of those unsung heroines of the 1995-1996 INS corruption cover-ups.  Unlike me, she still maintains some hope, but I can't help but be skeptical.  To me, it is a prerequisite for INS bureaucrats scampering to mask unfair treatment behind a bogus review, cloaked in continued lies, and legalisms.  I suspect that it is a prelude to unrelenting callousness towards a brave woman's five year battle for a simple apology and acknowledgement of her decency, patriotism and dedication."

Mr. Leventhal went on to say that he does see one ray of hope.  Mr. Stephen W. Schenk, Assistant Director Internal Investigations Branch, did end his letter with a "thank you."  In Caryl Leventhal's five years of anguish, the Reno Justice Department never responded to any letters at all ... let alone use conciliatory words like "thank you."

For USDOJ/INS letter, see: http://justice-denied.net/Congressletter-02.htm 

www.Justice-denied.net newswire 19 March 2001

Information on events in one of the most sadistic cases of US Department of Justice bigotry, corruption and cover-up has been sent to members of both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees for review.  In an attempt at "keeping what happened to me from being done to others," Caryl B. Leventhal makes an impassioned plea to Congress, President George W. Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft and her Senator Charles Chuck Schumer and Senator Hillary Clinton.  Mary Jo White, beleaguered Southern District US Attorney will also be contacted relative to actions and intimidation of her employees in complicity.  For full story, go to www.justice-denied.net. 

WWW.Justice-Denied.net Newswire

Janury 13, 2001

BROOKLYN, NY - Citing reasons of health and more responsive strategy, Caryl Leventhal cancelled the scheduled January 24, 2001 meeting with the US Attorney and federal Appeals Court mediation judge.

This decision culminated almost five years of obstructionism, death threat and intimidation by personnel in the US Department of Justice.  It included not very veiled pre-trial threats and witness tampering by Alan R. Kaufman, Chief of the US Attorney's Office Criminal Division.  Ms. Leventhal -- a victim of both INS USDOJ criminal activity cover-up retaliation and Multiple Sclerosis -- chooses to move in another direction.

"I'll be making personal appeals to elected officials in Washington and that includes personnel in the new George W. Bush Administration,"  remarked the terrorized and beleaguered Ms. Leventhal.  "I have neither the finances nor the physical strength to continue in unending litigation.  With the departure of Janet Reno's crowd, maybe the incoming US Attorney will understand.  I was brutalized by corrupt bigots during the time of Citizenship USA because I wanted to stop the rampant corruption in INS 26 Federal Plaza NYC.  I just want someone to say they were sorry for what happened to me.  Is that asking too much for a terminally ill woman in America?"

Full text and explanation appears at: http://www.justice-denied.net/Appeal_drop.htm    

www.Justice-Denied.net Newswire

December 6, 2000

Published testimony of plaintiff and witnesses in trial of Caryl Leventhal v. Janet Reno 99CIV.10405 shows that key testimony against US Department of Justice employees was kept from jury.  Much of this excluded information involves on-site criminal activity at INS 26 Federal Plaza NYC and a four year cover-up by the USDOJ.

Caryl B. Leventhal, waged a lone battle against on-site criminal activity at the Immigration & Naturaliztion Service, 26 Federal Plaza, NYC.  During that time, she was brutalized as a part of Reprisal for her actions.

Forced into filing suit in federal court after some three years in an Administrative Complaint Process filled with obstruction of justice and  threat of death, this terminally ill woman was pitted against the US Attorney's legal machine.  Asking for little more than a written apology, the trial was compromised by threats from Alan R. Kaufman, Chief of the US Attorney Criminal Division and wholesale refusal to allow full testimony and documented evidence for her allegations.  This evidence appeared in Newsday, The New York Times, The New York Post, Congressional Reports and even USDOJ investigative material.

When interviewed, Ms. Leventhal stated, "I'm very disappointed that the court chose to keep out so much evidence.  I would hate to think that our federal judiciary views the USDOJ as being privileged."  

US Attorney Moves to suppress evidence of Recorded Death Threat and USDOJ Complicity.  Covers for Hate Crime and INS

September 15, 2000 Justice-Denied.net newswire

 In a last minute attempt at hiding proof of INS/USDOJ death threat complicity and obstruction of justice,  US Attorney Eric Fisher, makes a motion to suppress evidence from jury. Attempts cover-up for criminals and INS lawyers.  USDOJ reveals its true colors ... and they're not "red, white and blue."  Caryl Leventhal still fearful for her life but vows to press on with her September 25th trial date. For Full text published with clarifying notes, see www.Justice-Denied.net.

Federal cookies
track Internet users
Government report says many agencies' websites violate privacy policy

By Charles Smith
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
October 30, 2000

The federal government is collecting cookies from your computer, in violation of its own policy, according to a newly released General Accounting Office report. Titled "Internet Privacy: Federal Agency Use of Cookies," the report shows that the government is collecting "persistent" cookies to track Internet users.

Cookies are files stored on a computer by Internet browser software when a website is visited. According to the GAO report, persistent cookies "can be used to track users' browsing behavior by identifying their Internet addresses."

The federal agencies that collect cookies include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Postal Service, Small Business Administration, U.S. Forest Service and Office of Personnel Management. Agencies not checked in the random survey include the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and Department of Defense.

The White House responded to the report by noting that the administration had banned the collection of Internet cookies in June.

"Cookies should not be used unless there is clear and conspicuous notice, a compelling need to gather the data on the site; appropriate and publicly disclosed privacy safeguards for handling of information derived from cookies; and personal approval by the head of the agency," wrote Sally Katzen, the deputy director of the Executive Office of the President in an Oct. 19 letter to the General Accounting Office.

The letter from the White House drew a sharp response from privacy advocates, one of which said the federal cookies policy failure is a small example of a much larger problem.

"Cookies are something very public and easy to monitor," noted David Kopel, research director for the Colorado-based Independence Institute. "Just what is going on when nobody is watching is a better question.

"Despite the White House mandate, you have to wonder whether there are other things going on behind the scenes -- projects withheld from the public view such as the recent FBI 'Carnivore' program, secret ATF databases on firearms owners and numerous secret wiretaps. Who knows what is going on?" said Kopel.

"The report is very disturbing and shows how far behind federal agencies are at understanding the technological and civil-liberties issues underlying Internet privacy," stated Barry Fagin, a privacy and telecommunications adviser working for RMI.NET.

"If a commercial website does something with a cookie that you don't like, or if they don't disclose their privacy policy to your satisfaction, you don't have to use it. Government sites, however, are often the sole source of information and have legal force behind them. So the standards for privacy protection should be much more rigorous than the private sector. In practice, at least right now, things are exactly backwards," he said.

"The present administration's commitment to civil liberties and privacy issues has been, in a word, terrible," asserted Fagin.

There is evidence supporting Fagin's assessment of the Clinton-Gore administration. For example, Vice President Al Gore has previously endorsed federal government monitoring of computer communications. In 1994, Gore endorsed a government-designed computer "Clipper" chip intended to monitor all secure computer communications, according to a letter written by the vice president.

"We also want to assure users of key escrow encryption products that they will not be subject to unauthorized electronic surveillance," noted the vice president in his July 20, 1994, letter to Cantwell.

"As we have done with the Clipper chip, future key escrow schemes must contain safeguards to provide for key disclosures only under legal authorization and should have audit procedures to ensure the integrity of the system. Escrow holders should be strictly liable for releasing keys without legal authorization," wrote Gore.

Yet, in 1994, government officials were keenly aware that the Clipper chip design that Gore endorsed did not have safeguards against unauthorized surveillance.

According to a top secret 1992 memo, FBI official J. R. Davis, wrote, "The most serious concern is that the scenario regarding the use of the 'exploitable' chip could surface publicly."

In 1993, Benita A. Cooper, NSA associate administrator for management systems and facilities, wrote "There is no way to prevent the NSA from routinely monitoring all (CLIPPER) encrypted traffic. Moreover, compromise of the NSA keys, such as in the Walker case, could compromise the entire (CLIPPER) system."

The GAO cookie report drew no reaction from the various political camps. Maria Cantwell, a well-known dot-com millionaire is currently the Democratic candidate running in a close bid against Sen. Glade Gordon, R-Wash. Neither Cantwell's Senate campaign office in Washington nor Gordon's campaign office both responded to requests for a comment.

The Republican National Committee headquarters and the Democratic National Committee headquarters also declined to comment on the cookies report. The lack of response from both major political parties comes as no surprise to privacy experts like Fagin.

"Neither major party really seems to 'get it.' That's why we need to take more responsibility for our own Web surfing and online privacy protection," noted Fagin.

"If a website doesn't display their privacy policy, e-mail them to ask why, and tell them you won't give them your business until they do. If they have a privacy policy link (most reputable sites display one proudly), click on it, read it and understand it. Finally, learn how to control the privacy settings in your browser. If you don't want any websites to track any information about your site visits, it's easy to do."

"Like it or not, when it comes to online privacy, we're on our own," concluded Fagin. "I think in the long run, we're better off that way."

Sprint Phone-Tracking Chip Raises Privacy Issues, WSJ Reports

(Bloomberg) November 10, 2000-- Sprint Corp.'s wireless unit said it will put global-positioning-system chips in its cell phones to help locate its users, a move that is expected to stir up privacy concerns that the phones could become homing devices, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

The No. 3 long-distance company is making the move, which will begin in the middle of 2001, to fulfill a federal mandate that all wireless service providers be able to pinpoint the location of a wireless 911 call within 100 feet by October 2001. 

Cell phone operators can opt to install tracking software in their wireless network, have phones include a chip with GPS technology, or a combination of the two, the newspaper said. 

Privacy advocates warn there are too many risks that the data could end up being misused, in part because phone users will leave electronic footprints, even as carriers say they will be the only ones with the ability to track calls. 

Appeals Panel Hears Ruby Ridge Case

By DAVID KRAVETS
The Associated Press Dec 21 2000


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The FBI shooting of a white separatist's wife during the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff was recounted in a federal courtroom Wednesday in a case that is testing whether federal agents are immune to state prosecution. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn't immediately indicate whether prosecutors would be allowed to try agent Lon T. Horiuchi on manslaughter charges for the death of Randy Weaver's wife, Vicki. 

The federal government declined to prosecute the agent. 

Wednesday's hearing stemmed from a request by Boundary County, Idaho, prosecutors, who argued in court papers that the shooting was done by a ``wild-headed government sniper.'' The county asked the court to review its June decision that said the county couldn't prosecute the sharpshooter for ``actions taken in pursuit of his duties as a federal law enforcement officer.'' 

Attorney Ramsey Clark, arguing for the county, said the court must reverse that decision in a case defining ``when government agents can kill with immunity.'' 

Solicitor General Seth Waxman told the 11 judges that it didn't matter whether Vicki Weaver's death was the result of excessive force. 

``These federal law enforcement officials are privileged to do what would otherwise be unlawful if done by a private citizen,'' Waxman told the panel during the hour-long hearing. ``It's a fundamental function of our government.'' 

Judge Alex Kozinski questioned Waxman's argument, saying: ``If the Constitution does not provide limitations for federal agents' actions, then what does?'' 

Much of the discussion focused on the facts surrounding Vicki Weaver's killing. 

Judge Susan Graber asked whether Horiuchi, who wasn't in the courtroom, knew the unarmed woman was in the line of fire when he shot at Weaver's cabin. ``Reasonable people could differ whether Agent Horiuchi's actions were reasonable or not,'' she said. 

``You really don't know the facts until you go to trial,'' Clark responded. 

Waxman said the facts are irrelevant, and that federal agents subject to various state laws could chill the government's ability even to guard the president. 

The court didn't indicate when it would rule. 

During the weeklong standoff at northern Idaho's remote Ruby Ridge, Horiuchi shot and killed Weaver's wife and wounded family friend Kevin Harris. Witnesses have said the sharpshooter fired as Vicki Weaver held open the cabin door, her 10-month-old baby in her arms, to let Randy Weaver, their daughter and Harris in. 

Horiuchi maintains he didn't see Vicki Weaver when he fired at Harris, who was armed and was ducking into the cabin as federal agents attempted to arrest Randy Weaver on a weapons trafficking charge. He also has said he fired to protect a government helicopter overhead. 

The Justice Department this summer announced the settlement of the last remaining civil lawsuit stemming from the standoff. The government admitted no wrongdoing, but paid Harris $380,000 to drop his $10 million civil damage suit. 

In 1995, the government paid Weaver and his three surviving children $3.1 million for the killing of Weaver's wife and their son, Samuel. The 14-year-old boy died in a shootout with federal marshals that ignited the siege. A deputy marshal was also killed. 

On the Net: 

9th Circuit Court of Appeals,case is Idaho vs. Horiuchi, 98-30149: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ 

Carnivore raises new concerns

New documents and the release of an independent panel's report raise suspicions about the FBI surveillance system.

By Robert Lemos, ZDNet News
November 17, 2000 4:21 PM PT

Newly released documents and a report from a highly criticized review panel have privacy experts once again questioning the FBI's motives in developing its Carnivore Internet surveillance system.

Mary Jo White, US Attorney Southern District... A Lawyer Fighting to Keep Her Job

www.DOJgov.net Newswire February 15, 2000