Under the Radar Blog Archives Select Date… August, 2020 July, 2020 June, 2020 May, 2020 April, 2020 March, 2020 February, 2020 January, 2020 December, 2019 November, 2019 October, 2019 September, 2019

Eric Holder: Reports of NYPD spying on Muslims 'disturbing'

Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that he finds "disturbing" reports that New York Police Department conducted broad surveillance of Muslims outside New York City as part of counter-terrorism efforts.

"At least what I've read publicly, and, again, just what I've read in the newspapers, is disturbing," Holder said during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Thursday morning. "And these are things that are under review at the Justice Department."

Holder's comments came after Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) asked the attorney general "how a law enforcement agency could spy on another state's residents without notifying the authorities, the governor or the mayor even knowing about it?"

"I don't know," Holder replied. He said Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.), a former U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, recently complained to him about the NYPD activity.

"He expressed to me the concerns that he had. He's now publicly expressed his concerns, as only he can," Holder added.

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) has accused Christie of taking "cheap shots" at New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly over the program, which was disclosed in a long-running investigative series by the Associated Press.

Asked for comment on Holder's reaction, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne defended the program.

"The NYPD is proactive because New Yorkers' lives depend on it," Browne said in an e-mail to POLITICO. "The NYPD practices mirrored those provided for in Justice Department/ FBI guidelines," Browne said, pointing to a series of terrorism cases he said were cracked as a result of NYPD "intelligence gathering."

Browne also noted that at a House hearing on Wednesday, FBI Director Robert Mueller said: 'Ray Kelly has done a remarkable job in protecting New York. New York has been and will continue to be a terror target."

The attorney general provided few details Thursday on the Justice Department's plans to study the NYPD program. "There are various components within the Justice Department that are actively looking at these matters," he said.

UPDATE: This post has been updated with NYPD reaction.