posted on October 8, 2003 10:24:43 AM new
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A day after a hidden listening device was found in Mayor John F. Street's City Hall office, his campaign suggested Wednesday that the bugging was politically motivated and could have been instigated by the Bush administration.
The surveillance equipment was found Tuesday morning - four weeks before the Nov. 4 mayoral election - during a routine sweep of Street's office by city police.
FBI spokesman Linda Vizi said the equipment was not connected to any campaign espionage, but she refused to say whether Street was being investigated or whether the FBI planted the device. She also wouldn't comment on how the FBI was able to conclude so quickly that the device was not connected to the mayor's race.
Tuesday's discovery comes near the end of a heated campaign. Street, a Democrat seeking a second term, beat Republican Sam Katz four years ago by fewer than 10,000 votes in this city of 1.5 million. Polls show a neck-and-neck race in this year's rematch between the two.
The Katz campaign denied having anything to do with the device, and campaign spokeswoman Maureen Garrity said the FBI's conclusion backed up that assertion. Katz called the discovery ``breathtakingly shocking'' but declined to comment further.
Street said he was not the subject of an investigation. And his campaign spokesman, Frank Keel, on Wednesday questioned the timing of the discovery and the FBI's comments.
``What the campaign does find incredibly curious is that the FBI could so quickly leap to the conclusion that this was not related to the mayoral campaign in any way, shape or form,'' Keel said.
Asked directly whether he was suggesting that a Republican-controlled Justice Department had bugged Street's office for political reasons, Keel said: ``Do we believe that the Republican Party, both at the federal level and state level, is pulling out every stop to get Pennsylvania in 2004? Absolutely. Is the Republican Party capable of dirty tricks? I think that is well documented.''
Asked about the FBI's conclusion, Street himself said he didn't know how the bureau could eliminate any possibilities or ``rule anything in or out.''
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan did not immediately respond to Keel's comments. FBI spokeswoman Vizi declined to comment Wednesday.
The listening device was discovered at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Street and Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said at a joint news conference. Police said officers inspect the mayor's office every three or four months.
Officials would not say where in the office the device had been found, what it looked like or how long it was believed to have been in place.
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on October 8, 2003 10:55:40 AM new
That's interesting. [Police said officers inspect the mayor's office every three or four months[/i]. I wonder if this is a common practice for all mayor's offices or just his?
I know reports are made public as soon as something like this breaks but do so wish they'd have the proof of who did what, rather than just accusations against an administration or their opposition for an upcoming race. Smacks of a political smear. If proof were offered about why they think the one/ones they've accused did this that would be different. But to just throw blantant accusations out....immediately puts the accused in the position of having to prove they didn't do what they're being accused of.
posted on October 8, 2003 11:39:46 AM new
If you find a bug it is foolish to announce it to the world and get rid of it. Much better to find out who is doing it by feeding it dis-information. If it was the FBI you could feed it enough to make them do something even more foolish than political spying.
posted on October 8, 2003 12:55:16 PM new
Yes, Mayors, Govenors, CEOs, and many other people in power sweep their offices for bugs. It is stupid not to do so and it should be done more than every 3 or 4 months.
posted on October 8, 2003 08:50:14 PM new
Perhaps it was evil Islam terrorists.
Where is your patriotic support for FBI Troops; How could any American be connected with such deviousness.????????
Quick: Call in Kissinger!
"The illegal we can do right now; the unconstitutional will take a little longer."
Henry Kissinger
posted on October 10, 2003 05:07:51 AM new
an update:
FBI Confiscated Mayor John F. Street's Wireless E-Mail Unit
"Federal law enforcement sources speaking on condition of anonymity have confirmed that the devices found in Street's office were planted by the FBI, but have declined to say why.
Since the bugging was discovered, Street has denied any knowledge of an investigation and called on the FBI to explain its actions, but he has also drawn criticism from Katz, who said after the debate that he believed "there is substantially more than the mayor has disclosed to the public."
Reports have been swirling for months about investigations into the city's dealings with private companies.
The FBI subpoenaed records from the Philadelphia school district this summer related to the Liberty Academy Charter School, a privately run public school that is scheduled to open in 2004, and was founded by Faridah Ali, the wife of one of Philadelphia's more influential Muslim leaders, Shamsud-din Ali.
A day after the bugs were found in Street's office, FBI agents raided the Philadelphia headquarters of a tax-collection business affiliated with Shamsud-din Ali, Keystone Information and Financial Services.
A man who identified himself as the manager of the company's office in the city's Germantown section said FBI agents arrived at about 11 a.m. Wednesday and spent several hours hauling away records and computers.
The man, who would not give his name, said he didn't know what agents were looking for, or whether it was related to the bugging. He said Shamsud-din Ali, who is an imam at a large mosque and a fixture in city politics, would not comment.
posted on October 10, 2003 07:49:02 AM new
See:
It must have been those ‘evil’ Semite Terrorists;
Why else would Fox mention ‘them’ on the same page. LOL
