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By Barton Gellman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 20, 2005; A21
The FBI is joining the Bush administration's War on Porn. And it's looking for a few good agents.
Early last month, the bureau's Washington Field Office began recruiting for a new anti-obscenity squad. Attached to the job posting was a July 29 Electronic Communication from FBI headquarters to all 56 field offices, describing the initiative as "one of the top priorities" of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and, by extension, of "the Director." That would be FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III.
Mischievous commentary began propagating around the water coolers at 601 Fourth St. NW and its satellites, where the FBI's second-largest field office concentrates on national security, high-technology crimes and public corruption.
The new squad will divert eight agents, a supervisor and assorted support staff to gather evidence against "manufacturers and purveyors" of pornography -- not the kind exploiting children, but the kind that depicts, and is marketed to, consenting adults.
"I guess this means we've won the war on terror," said one exasperated FBI agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity because poking fun at headquarters is not regarded as career-enhancing. "We must not need any more resources for espionage."
Among friends and trusted colleagues, an experienced national security analyst said, "it's a running joke for us."
A few of the printable samples:
"Things I Don't Want On My Résumé, Volume Four."
"I already gave at home."
"Honestly, most of the guys would have to recuse themselves."
Federal obscenity prosecutions, which have been out of style since Attorney General Edwin Meese III in the Reagan administration made pornography a signature issue in the 1980s, do "encounter many legal issues, including First Amendment claims," the FBI headquarters memo noted.
Applicants for the porn squad should therefore have a stomach for the kind of material that tends to be most offensive to local juries. Community standards -- along with a prurient purpose and absence of artistic merit -- define criminal obscenity under current Supreme Court doctrine.
"Based on a review of past successful cases in a variety of jurisdictions," the memo said, the best odds of conviction come with pornography that "includes bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior." No word on the universe of other kinks that helps make porn a multibillion-dollar industry.
Popular acceptance of hard-core pornography has come a long way, with some of its stars becoming mainstream celebrities and their products -- once confined to seedy shops and theaters -- being "purveyed" by upscale hotels and most home cable and satellite television systems. Explicit sexual entertainment is a profit center for companies including General Motors Corp. and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (the two major owners of DirecTV), Time Warner Inc. and the Sheraton, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt hotel chains.
But Gonzales endorses the rationale of predecessor Meese: that adult pornography is a threat to families and children. Christian conservatives, long skeptical of Gonzales, greeted the pornography initiative with what the Family Research Council called "a growing sense of confidence in our new attorney general."
Congress began funding the obscenity initiative in fiscal 2005 and specified that the FBI must devote 10 agents to adult pornography. The bureau decided to create a dedicated squad only in the Washington Field Office. "All other field offices may investigate obscenity cases pursuant to this initiative if resources are available," the directive from headquarters said. "Field offices should not, however, divert resources from higher priority matters, such as public corruption."
Public corruption, officially, is fourth on the FBI's priority list, after protecting the United States from terrorist attack, foreign espionage and cyber-based attacks. Just below those priorities are civil rights, organized crime, white-collar crime and "significant violent crime." The guidance from headquarters does not mention where pornography fits in.
"The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's top priority remains fighting the war on terrorism," said Justice Department press secretary Brian Roehrkasse. "However, it is not our sole priority. In fact, Congress has directed the department to focus on other priorities, such as obscenity."
At the FBI's field office, spokeswoman Debra Weierman expressed disappointment that some of her colleagues find grist for humor in the new campaign. "The adult obscenity squad . . . stems from an attorney general mandate, funded by Congress," she said. "The personnel assigned to this initiative take the responsibility of this assignment very seriously and are dedicated to the success of this program."
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don't ever take away from me my pornography
we obviously don't agree on what's obscene
I have the right to choose what I
want to see and read
don't try to take away from me
my tight to privacy what I
do is no one's business but me
so stay in your missionary position
I hope that you got bored to death
there's no way I'm going thru life
having vanilla sex
the governments trying to get in
your bedroom you better lock you
door and close you shades because
there could be someone watching you today
why do you try to make things illegal
why do we have to be 21
are you afraid that people are having
too much fun
why do you care what I do in my bedroom
why do you want to know how I screw
it seems to me you've got nothing better
to do.
__________________
RIP King of Cards
Tim Minnick 9/12/1972-3/4/2007
You'll be missed.
don't ever take away from me my pornography
we obviously don't agree on what's obscene
I have the right to choose what I
want to see and read
don't try to take away from me
my tight to privacy what I
do is no one's business but me
so stay in your missionary position
I hope that you got bored to death
there's no way I'm going thru life
having vanilla sex
the governments trying to get in
your bedroom you better lock you
door and close you shades because
there could be someone watching you today
why do you try to make things illegal
why do we have to be 21
are you afraid that people are having
too much fun
why do you care what I do in my bedroom
why do you want to know how I screw
it seems to me you've got nothing better
to do.
I understand the obvious stuff such as child porn, etc. which should be strongly enforced and prosecuted; but considering the ubiquitive presence of pornography in our society, what exactly could be considered illegal?
The current law standard(i.e. - Community standards -- along with a prurient purpose and absence of artistic merit -- define criminal obscenity under current Supreme Court doctrine.) would have to be revised to a stricter standard in order to have any impact.
So, in my estimation, this is much ado about nothing. It's making a statement to appease certain segments of the Republican constituency, but it will amount to little to nothing more than a statement.
__________________
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
-Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Any conservatives care to justify taking agents that could be iused in anti terrorism efforts and putting them on this ?
No agents will be taken away from anti-terrorism efforts.
Selling hard-core pornography on the Internet is a violation of federal obscenity law no matter where it is located....the U.S. Supreme Court has said that pornography is "presumptively protected" unless and until it is ruled obscenity or child porn in a court.
To me this looks to be more of a federal reaction to the xxx domain being created. As several folks on this board (including you) have pointed out - the new domain concept won't work and the government practically (and shouldn't) doesn't have any regulatory control over it.
So I can see the government's position that to allow pornographers to be the masters of their own domain is practically encouraging porn. This is why an establishment of a obscenity prosecution task force to prosecute violators of the obscenity law might be the only viable alternative...and should be construed as a warning shot.
Quote:
OBSCENITY PROSECUTION TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED TO INVESTIGATE, PROSECUTE PURVEYORS OF OBSCENE MATERIALS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray announced today that the Criminal Division is establishing an Obscenity Prosecution Task Force dedicated exclusively to the investigation and prosecution of obscenity cases.
The Director of the Task Force and will work closely with Bruce Taylor, Senior Counsel to the Criminal Division’s Assistant Attorney General, who will provide guidance in his capacity as Counsel to the Task Force.
In addition to trial attorneys from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Criminal Division, the Task Force will draw upon the expertise of several other Criminal Division sections: the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, which will contribute strategic guidance in prosecuting complex criminal cases; the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, which will bring experience in seizing assets obtained through criminal activity; and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, which will assist in investigations focused on the Internet and other high-tech methods of distributing obscenity. The Task Force also will be supported by CEOS’s High-Tech Investigative Unit, which consists of computer and forensic experts with knowledge of the Internet and other interactive computer systems such as peer-to-peer networks.
The Task Force will be dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of the distributors of hard-core pornography that meets the test for obscenity, as defined by the United States Supreme Court. Although the Task Force will create a singular focus for the prosecution of obscenity cases, CEOS will continue to prosecute obscenity cases in addition to child pornography, child exploitation and trafficking crimes. As in past obscenity cases, Justice Department prosecutors will continue to work in coordination with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and other federal and local law enforcement partners.
“The Justice Department is committed to respecting and protecting the First Amendment rights of all individuals. However, the welfare of America’s families and children demands that we enforce the laws on the books, and that is what this Task Force is designed to do,” said Assistant Attorney General Wray. “With the creation of this Task Force, our commitment to law enforcement in this vital area is taken one step further.
“Advances in technology and mass marketing, particularly over the past decade, have enabled the traffic in obscenity to take on a more national and even global reach,” Wray added. “The special challenges that obscenity cases pose in the computer age require an equally specialized response. A coordinated Task Force of prosecutorial expertise is the best way to meet those challenges.”
Any conservatives care to justify taking agents that could be iused in anti terrorism efforts and putting them on this ?
No, I believe it to be a waste of resources.
I don't approve of the proliferation of pornography into all facets of our society, but this attempt at restriction is not the answer. Certainly the FBI has more significant issues. Enforcement of pornography standards should be the jusisdiction of local community authorities.
__________________
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
-Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Last edited by CardLogic; September 20th, 2005 at 09:22 AM.
From the article the Djaughe posted it appears that the increased enforcement initiative relates to the issues of child pornography and other criminal activities such as racketeering etc. which should be strongly enforced and prosecuted.
__________________
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
-Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Last edited by CardLogic; September 20th, 2005 at 03:13 PM.
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