Senator Dianne Feinstein has called for a congressional hearing
to investigate alleged “significant misuses of FBI
power” on UC campuses since the 1960s.
An investigative series published by the San Francisco Chronicle
last June exposed FBI involvement against former UC president Clark
Kerr and student activist groups on UC campuses, especially UC
Berkeley.
The articles prompted Feinstein to send a letter to FBI Director
Robert Mueller asking for an explanation and for details about what
measures protect citizens against FBI infringement on rights
guaranteed by the First Amendment.
“It is vital that we have a strong FBI that enjoys the
confidence and trust of the American people,” Feinstein wrote
in the letter.
“If there are things we need to do to tighten safeguards
or to prevent a return to past misdeeds, we must do them
now.”
Feinstein also called the issue “important to a successful
fight against global terrorism.”
Although Feinstein received a reply in mid November that denied
the allegations, she expressed her dissatisfaction with its
contents and called for a congressional hearing.
“I found the response frankly disappointing in its
inadequacy,” she told the Chronicle.
The FBI declined comment on the issue at this time.
Feinstein’s comments followed on the heels of the passing
of the Homeland Security Bill in early November, a bill that some
civil rights groups view as a danger to civil liberties and the
Freedom of Information Act.
In addition, there is concern that the FBI and the CIA could use
its new authority to carry out illegal investigations on UC
campuses in the future.
Feinstein’s spokesperson Scott Gerber called
Feinstein’s actions a chance to investigate past abuses of
power and to protect against future ones.
“Everyone is concerned about academic freedom and this
would set the record straight,” he said.
The 1960s were a period of great unrest on UC campuses,
characterized by the 1964 Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley and
followed by sporadic anti-war demonstrations during the height of
the Vietnam War.
Then UC President Clark Kerr did little to suppress these
movements and was dismissed by the UC Board of Regents in 1967.
The Chronicle reported that the FBI conspired with the CIA to
leak discrediting material about student activists to the press and
that the FBI accused Kerr of disloyalty, resulting in his
dismissal.
The Chronicle fought a 17-year legal battle with the FBI through
the Freedom of Information Act before they were granted access to
documents regarding Kerr.
The FBI is currently processing an additional 17,400 pages for
release.
In her letter, Feinstein asked Director Mueller if the FBI had
deliberately stalled in releasing its information, whether or not
the allegations were true, and if they were, what safeguards were
in place to prevent such interference from recurring.
The response, written by Eleni P. Kalisch, the Section Chief of
Government Relations, denied that the FBI had deliberately
prevented the Chronicle from obtaining information, calling the 17
year wait a “miscommunication.”
Kalisch also denied the allegations of FBI involvement.
“Any allegation that the FBI investigates individual
American citizens or groups merely because of their political views
is without merit,” she said.
Kalisch also cited regulations that prohibit the FBI from
“investigating … based on the exercise of First Amendment
rights.”
Congress does not reconvene until Jan. 7 when Feinstein would
put her proposal before the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It
is not clear who would sit on the hearing, assuming one was
called.
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.