WASHINGTON - House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), and Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) called on the Department of Justice to postpone the effective date of the consolidated FBI Domestic Operations Guidelines until the new Administration has an opportunity to approve the procedures.

Today the Department of Justice publicly released the highly anticipated FBI guidelines which are scheduled to become effective on December 1,2008. Even after the public release of the guidelines, questions still remain about why there seems to be a rush to change these procedures in the last days of this Administration. Serious concerns have been raised about how the new guidelines will affect the methods used by the FBI to investigate American citizens lawfully exercising their constitutional rights. Although Director Mueller appeared before the Judiciary Committee to respond to concerns expressed about the new procedures, it remains unclear whether the proposed guidelines will result in the FBI monitoring the religious and political activities of innocent people.

"The Department of Justice should provide these new guidelines as suggestions to the new Administration to consider early next year," said Conyers. It is not appropriate for the current Administration to make such sweeping changes to FBI procedures at this late date, only a month before the election."

"In addition to questions about the appropriateness of the guidelines, there are still a number of details about how FBI agents will operate under the new procedures that the Department of Justice has not yet revealed," said Scott. Without knowledge of these procedures, it is very difficult to assess what the real life consequences of the consolidated FBI investigative guidelines will be on the American public."

"The secrecy, lack of consultation, and haste with which these 11th hour guidelines were produced should concern everyone," said Nadler. "I hope that the next administration, whoever wins the election, will make a careful review of these new guidelines and seek greater input from outside the Department."

The new guidelines may be found here, http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/readingroom/guidelines.pdf.

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From http://judiciary.house.gov/news/081003.html