In terms of the Justice Department as a whole, a Morning Consult/Politico poll found that a majority of American voters think the DOJ allows external politics to influence its decisions to prosecute federal crimes. There were relatively few differences between groups but millennials did have somewhat higher levels of trust in the FBI than Gen X or Gen Z. Numbers from the Penn State poll show that only 4% of Republicans say they “just about always” trust the FBI, compared to 17% of Democrats. Trust is significantly higher among Democrats than Republicans and Independents. Polling from Gallup also shows that 50% of people think the FBI is doing an “excellent” or “good” job, while 28% think it’s doing poorly. Meanwhile, only one in five Americans say they trust the FBI “hardly ever.” That number is significantly higher than trust in the federal government overall, which is about one-fourth. So, what do Americans think about the FBI's covert surveillance operations?Ī poll from Penn State’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy found that half of Americans trust the FBI “most of the time” or “just about always" - 40% and 10%, respectively. In 2011, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit against the government, alleging that federal agents had violated constitutional protections. Agents infiltrated student groups and mosques, sometimes for years, seeking information on any potential Muslim radicals. It's worth noting, however, that the FBI carried out similar surveillance operations in the early 2000s following the 9/11 attacks. Last year, the FBI was heavily criticized by House Republicans for allegedly targeting parents at school board meetings. This is not the first time the FBI has faced heat from Republicans over targeting a small group. He said that the agency engaging in outreach prevents Americans who go to church from being able to freely exercise their First Amendment rights and suggests that certain Catholics “ may be domestic terrorists.” This is the latest move in Jordan’s probe into the FBI for allegedly misusing domestic violent extremism resources. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray letting him know he’s being subpoenaed. The FBI has since said that the document was removed from its system and the matter is under review but Republicans aren’t happy. The whistleblower who leaked the report said this was an effort to find white supremacists because it claims that violent extremists have sought out Catholic churches. The bureau was specifically looking into a smaller group of ultra-traditionalist priests that practice “ Latin Mass” and its members are typically referred to as " radical traditionalists," who usually lean far-right. He is now awaiting sentencing the maximum sentence is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.The document showed that the FBI sent at least one undercover agent into the Catholic church and proposed that agents engage in outreach to Catholic parishes to gain sources within the church. Last week, San Francisco’s FBI field office announced Gessen was found guilty of one charge of murder for hire at trial. In July 2022, Gessen was arrested and indicted by a grand jury for his scheme. “Gessen also provided to the undercover FBI agent a target package containing details about his former partner’s whereabouts, schedule, and lifestyle habits.” “Gessen also sent to the undercover FBI agent a written agreement containing a promise to pay for phony ‘consulting services’ as a method to disguise the true nature of the funds,” the U.S. Prosecutors say Gessen “agreed to pay a $25,000 deposit and have the remaining $25,000 be due after her murder.” At a subsequent meeting, Gessen gave the agent a $2,000 gold coin and then transferred the remaining $23,000 deposit to the agent’s San Francisco bank account. Gessen decided this was too steep a cost, and the undercover agent offered to charge $50,000 instead. He allegedly told the agent that he reached out to an international “hit team,” which told him it would cost over $200,000 to complete the job. According to prosecutors, Gessen began musing that the “cheaper way to get rid of her” was to have the woman murdered. During a summer 2022 meeting with the undercover agent, however, Gessen’s plan turned even more sinister.
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