folo

Wiretap power for Hood clears the MS House

March 20th, 2008 @ 12:11 pm - by lotus · 7 Comments

Filed Under: Herald & Examiner

7 Responses so far ↓

1. Sailor says:

   March 20, 2008 at 12:17 pm

   Don’t think Hood can get it through the Senate unless he promised to resign! The last thing Hood’s political enemies want is for him to have more investigative powers…on the other hand, if it passes, he has no excuse not to go after white-collar crime…
2. somslawyer says:

   March 20, 2008 at 4:09 pm

   This illustrates the principle: Be careful what you wish for. With wire-tap authority, Hood has one less excuse for not investigating corruption among his supporters.
3. Sailor says:

   March 20, 2008 at 5:17 pm

   Just wondering: do most states grant this authority to their AG’s? I think it’s very scary…I also think the Patriot Act is anything but patriotic, so…
4. observer says:

   March 20, 2008 at 10:12 pm

   It will be D.O.A. Mississippi needs a public corruption wiretap statute, but Jim Hood is not the guy who is going to be able to get it pushed through and signed.
5. mississippi gal not a lawyer tho says:

   March 21, 2008 at 12:03 am

   If the State of Mississippi gets into the business of wiretaps it will be “Katie, bar the door” time.
   We don’t have the capability or the manpower.
6. lotus says:

   March 21, 2008 at 5:59 am

   Sailor 3, apparently most states do, but I’m not real up on it, so don’t quote me. I absolutely agree as to the “Patriot Act” — an abomination I hope we’ll be shut-of by this time next year (much too late).
7. observer says:

   March 21, 2008 at 8:30 am

   You didn’t know? The State of Mississippi is in the wiretap business and has been for some time. But, right now, the only state entity allowed to do it is the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics for drug violations.

   I often wonder how many people railing against the public corruption wiretap statute even know that?

   Kind of similiar to the people who rail against acts codified in the Patriot Act that had been codified and used in other statutes for decades without notice. I wish I could say that I was amused when people say that something we have been doing for thirty years without a problem is now going to be the downfall of the country because it was put under and encompassed by the Patriot Act when it was passed.

   I really don’t know what they were thinking when they wrote it that way, and named it that, because it was like shooting fireworks up. I think wiretaps scare people who don’t realize the scrutiny and expense and manpower that goes into them.

   They were my specialization and the crux of the damned if you do, damned if you don’t, problem with wiretaps, national security or otherwise, is that you can’t disclose the successes of them to very many people, lest they quit being successful.

   But, people opposed to them should take a moment and consider why so many Congressman publicly oppose things like national security wiretaps and the Patriot Act, but after getting classified briefings on their use, vote in favor of them.

   And, I know that not many people are ever satisfied or impressed when they are told, “If you knew what I know, which I can’t tell you, you would probably have the same opinion as I do.”.

   But, with things like Title 3 and national security wiretaps, I don’t know how you fix that.