NCJ Number
176108
Date Published
1996
Length
444 pages
Annotation
This book examines the performance and accountability of the U.S. Department of Justice in recent years as the law enforcer and prosecutor for the executive branch of the Federal Government.
Abstract
The author argues that the U.S. Justice Department, which he deems to be the most powerful arm of the Federal Government, operates virtually uncontrolled and unaccountable to any meaningful authority. He believes this has led to such operational failures and abuses as the BCCI scandal, the forcible abduction of deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and the tragic events at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The book criticizes the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration for expanding their electronic surveillance networks to encompass more and more average Americans, rather than suspected criminals. It documents how the "war" on drugs currently consumes more than half of the Justice Department's budget but remains ineffective in reducing the use of illegal drugs in the U.S. population. The author also discusses how and why FBI Director Freeh, following a policy of J. Edgar Hoover, directed a misleading national advertising blitz about the Nation's crime problem. He identifies the Justice Department's failure to investigate the political allies of nearly all recent presidents. Other questionable Justice Department operations identified are the work of the Surreptitious Entry Program, which breaks into private facilities to plant hidden cameras and microphones; and the use of Justice Department enforcement powers to harass black politicians and aid white politicians. Chapter notes, a 184-item bibliography, and a subject index