A controversial state security report which targeted certain right-wing and third-party groups as terrorist threats was researched in 2008 and written in 2009, The Notebook learned Monday evening.
According to the State Highway Patrol, work began on the now defunct 8-page Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) "Modern Militia Movement" document back in July of 2008, during Gov. Matt Blunt's term.
But the report was completed during the first month of Governor Jay Nixon's administration.
"The MIAC employee began research on the report during the first week of July 2008," said Highway Patrol Captain Tim Hull. "They completed the written report during the last week of January 2009," Hull added.
February 20th is the date listed on the document.
The revelation of the report's evolution clears up the mystery over when the document was produced, but will likely not resolve the blame game between the Blunt and Nixon camps.
Nixon has noted that the agency and report was formed under the Blunt administration. Blunt said Monday that he had no knowledge of such a report during his term. The timeline detailed by the Highway Patrol revealed that work on this document was done under both administrations.
A spokesman for Blunt said Nixon's reaction to the report was more pertinent than the timing of when it began. "The drafting of a report by a bureaucrat is significantly different than its promulgation and defense by the governor and the department director," Chrismer said. "Governor Blunt has said that he was not aware of any report issued while he was governor that was similar to this offensive one and indicated what action he would have taken had there been one," he added.
Captain Hull's comments also shows that top levels of both administrations were -- and are not regularly immersed in the details of such reports.
For the amount of MIAC reports that are released, they couldn't and shouldn't be, explained another law enforcement official.
Officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about the MIAC controversy, said there are some days where he receives "two or three MIAC reports a day." He said the reports can range from covering events like a jail escapee to a crime in a particular region.
"We're not out to target Ron Paul supporters with bumper stickers. I'd resign today if I knew anyone was doing that," said the Patrolman.
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According to the State Highway Patrol, work began on the now defunct 8-page Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) "Modern Militia Movement" document back in July of 2008, during Gov. Matt Blunt's term.
But the report was completed during the first month of Governor Jay Nixon's administration.
"The MIAC employee began research on the report during the first week of July 2008," said Highway Patrol Captain Tim Hull. "They completed the written report during the last week of January 2009," Hull added.
February 20th is the date listed on the document.
The revelation of the report's evolution clears up the mystery over when the document was produced, but will likely not resolve the blame game between the Blunt and Nixon camps.
Nixon has noted that the agency and report was formed under the Blunt administration. Blunt said Monday that he had no knowledge of such a report during his term. The timeline detailed by the Highway Patrol revealed that work on this document was done under both administrations.
A spokesman for Blunt said Nixon's reaction to the report was more pertinent than the timing of when it began. "The drafting of a report by a bureaucrat is significantly different than its promulgation and defense by the governor and the department director," Chrismer said. "Governor Blunt has said that he was not aware of any report issued while he was governor that was similar to this offensive one and indicated what action he would have taken had there been one," he added.
Captain Hull's comments also shows that top levels of both administrations were -- and are not regularly immersed in the details of such reports.
For the amount of MIAC reports that are released, they couldn't and shouldn't be, explained another law enforcement official.
Officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about the MIAC controversy, said there are some days where he receives "two or three MIAC reports a day." He said the reports can range from covering events like a jail escapee to a crime in a particular region.
"We're not out to target Ron Paul supporters with bumper stickers. I'd resign today if I knew anyone was doing that," said the Patrolman.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
3 comments:
Lets call a spade a spade, Dave.
This report began under Blunt in July -- as Blunt was near the end of his term. The written report was completed the last week of January.
NIXON DIDN'T TAKE OFFICE UNTIL JANUARY 12th!
He was in office a whole TWO WEEKS as this report was being complied. Hardly long enough to justify placing the blame on him.
Blunt and his cronies can play the blame game tactics, but I prefer to trust the word of a man who has dedicated his life to protecting Missouri families -- Highway Patrol Captain Tim Hull.
I appreciate the officer's comment that no one is actively profiling Ron Paul (who is after all a sitting member of the House of Representatives) or small-government, fiscally conservative republicans.
Having said that, the officer goes on to say that the report should not have been made public.
I disagree strongly. The notion that the police should have a intelligence gathering organization that profiles American citizens in secrecy is hardly the sort of thing that we should be happy about in the first place. If this organization then begins to produce reports that use criteria such a being a conservative Republican as an association that profiles you as a potential terrorist, that that nonsense needs to be shown the light of day.
I appreciate that individual officers may "roll their eyes" at this nonsense but it is still an official (and secret) government report. People take these things seriously.
This report should not only have been made public, the whole MIAC institution should be reconsidered. If domestic terrorist is a tag that we're going to start applying to people it had better be to actual terrorist organizations rather law-abiding political active citizens.
“Secrecy is the keystone of all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy... censorship. When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything -- you can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him" -John Lyle in Revolt in 2100 by Robert A. Heinlein
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