The Cato Institute is suing the FBI for access to records about the bureau’s work to surveil Americans in 2020, particularly surrounding mass protests, the political campaign season and COVID-related restrictions.
The FBI has fought the libertarian think tank’s records requests for months and withheld documents that would show when the bureau teamed with police to conduct surveillance in the absence of a verified threat, contends Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington.
“Whether we’re talking about what the FBI might be supplying to state and local law enforcement or whether it’s the FBI operating on its own, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether you think you’ve done nothing wrong. All that matters is what the people with badges and guns decide you’ve done,” Mr. Eddington said.
The Cato Institute’s lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeks access to FBI files with a 343 designation, used to document FBI cooperation with domestic police officers.
The FBI may provide investigative assistance to domestic police when violations of federal law are suspected as possible, threats to national security are made, and for nonfederal crimes involving violence, according to a 2021 version of the bureau’s rulebook.
Details on the FBI’s domestic surveillance are difficult to come by. The Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, updated in 2021 and posted on the FBI’s electronic library, redacted examples of assistance provided in investigations of nonfederal crimes.
Amid rioting in Baltimore in 2015 after the deadly arrest of Freddie Gray, the FBI conducted aircraft video surveillance to assist local officials amid threats of violence, according to records posted in the FBI’s digital library.
In 2020, the death of George Floyd in Minnesota sparked unrest nationwide. Protesters took to the streets despite government officials imposing restrictions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Eddington said he wants to determine the level of effort the FBI put into its response to left-leaning protests compared with those on the right, including as the 2020 election season heated up.
The Cato Institute also wants details on whether state officials tasked the FBI with helping impose COVID-related restrictions on people’s behavior. Mr. Eddington said he was particularly interested in whether Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, leveraged law enforcement in helping administer COVID-related restrictions.
“I expect them to fight us tooth and nail,” Mr. Eddington said of the FBI.
The Cato Institute previously unearthed records of FBI-acknowledged wrongdoing in investigations involving people engaged in politics, media, government and religious groups.
The think tank’s push for details on domestic snooping comes as the FBI faces pressure for using a database of foreigners’ communications to investigate crimes unrelated to national security.
A group of White House intelligence advisers released a report Monday recommending the bureau stop using the database for investigations outside the national security realm. The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and Intelligence Oversight Board said the bureau’s lethargic effort to demonstrate accountability for not following rules has cast doubt on the integrity of the FBI and the wider U.S. intelligence community.
The FBI declined to comment Wednesday on the Cato Institute’s lawsuit.
The bureau on Monday said it would engage with Congress about the recommendations in the intelligence advisers’ report, and the FBI touted its desire for renewed surveillance powers.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
