March 24, 2005
'It comes down to trusting the people who serve this community'
Your Complete Guide To Our JTTF Coverage
Our headline today comes courtesy of Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Jordan, who reportely made the remark during yesterday's Federal news conference held to respond to the resolution filed by Mayor Tom Potter and Commissioner Randy Leonard. The comment goes directly to the heart of the entire debate over the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Jordan of course is quite correct that current oversight practices rest almost entirely upon trusting the people involved. And therein lies the problem.
People are frequently fallible and sometimes malicious. In a nation, and by extension a City, which is meant to be of laws not of men, it is the systems we deliberately put into place which we are supposed to trust, not the people within that system. And even then, we are to trust those systems only as far as proper checks and balances permit.
Our responsibility is to ensure that a proper respect for civil rights and liberties is being maintained, not simply assume so.
In order to grasp the real implications of Jordan's comment, we need to revisit the existing oversight processes regarding Portland's participation in the Joint Terrorism Task Force. We must do so in large part because until and unless other local media outlets fully report that aspect of the story, the public debate over the JTTF is far too easily distorted, and misrepresentations too easily pass unchallenged.
The issues at stake are too important to be ignored, trivialized, demonized, demagogued, or outright lied about. It's the responsibility of the press to make sure such perversions of discourse are not allowed to stand.
At some point in the near future, we will set out to recap anew our coverage of the oversight issue over the past several months. For now, we are providing here a complete set of links to our previous coverage, beginning with last December's postponement of City Council's reauthorization of the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the JTTF.
If you're a regular reader seeking to get back up to speed, or a new reader who is coming across this site due to the latest developments, there is one thing above all else which we believe you need to keep in mind as you read through our coverage.
Our contention is that the entire oversight process put into place by former Mayor Vera Katz appears to us to depend almost entirely upon the JTTF-assigned officers self-certifying their compliance with Oregon law. For us, that turns on its head the premise of being a nation of laws rather than of men. With that said, then, we present our previous coverage.
December 20, 2004
December 26, 2004
January 9, 2005
January 23, 2005
January 29, 2005
February 1, 2005
February 6, 2005
February 12, 2005
February 16, 2005
February 17, 2005
February 18, 2005
February 22, 2005
February 23, 2005
February 24, 2005
February 27, 2005
March 4, 2005
March 7, 2005
March 9, 2005
March 17, 2005
March 22, 2005
March 23, 2005
- City Sets March 30 Showdown Over Joint Terrorism Task Force
- Early Federal (And Media) Reaction To City's JTTF Demands
Comments (15)
allehseya on 24 Mar 2005
Add to this that I propose that this entry entitled "It comes down to trusting the people who serve this community" act as a petition of sorts to which I hereby sign as a member of the "We, the people, holding this view" in regards to the concern relating to the JTTF agreement and the role of the media in general.
Sincerely,
Allehseya Hawk
The One True b!X on 24 Mar 2005
FYI, I've been tracking this story over at Google News since yesterday evening. Overnight and into today, the AP piece began to get picked up around the state.
Within the past hour, a Reuters story appeared. Expect it now to get picked up on national news sites over the next 24-48 hours.
allehseya on 24 Mar 2005
Good. Bring it on. Let all the major media be present to witness us support the officials we really trust when Portland city council will hear public testimony and vote on the mayor's proposal on March 30.
(marking my calendar now)
allehseya on 24 Mar 2005
b!X -- Why didnt you list the archives on this topic as far back as November?
The One True b!X on 24 Mar 2005
You could just as well ask why I didn't go back all the way and pull out links to every JTTF-related post ever made here. I had to pick a cutoff somewhere, and December is the one I picked.
allehseya on 24 Mar 2005
Actually -- even further than November. You should start the archive as far back as October 11, 2004 with the entry titled "Commissioner Leonard Solicits BlueOregon's Advice On JTTF"
Josh on 24 Mar 2005
Even with the idea of "trusting the people who serve this community," I have an easier time trusting somebody overseeing the process who was elected into his position, not hired. Electing an official is one of the best checks and balances we have. The few officers that are certifiying there own investigations were not on my ballot last time I checked.
Erik Sten on 24 Mar 2005
Wouldn't it follow, from Special Agent Jordan's comment, that the FBI ought to be willing to trust Mayor Potter and Chief Foxworth as well?
When I voted to support the task force last year it was with the understanding that the Mayor would have clearance. The distinction between "secret" and "top-secret" was not understood at that time. Now it appears that there never was any intent to give the Mayor real access. The very tough decision to work with their structure was, in fact, an act of trust on my part. In retrospect, it does not seem to have been warranted.
The reason I think it is important to get this out there is that I expect there will be an effort to paint the Council as unwilling to work with the FBI.
I, for one, have worked hard over several years to find a reasonable way to approach this situation, as I believe we should work with federal law enforcement. After the community rightfully became concerned about the lack of civilian oversight, I continued to look for a way to reconcile the competing needs. While we were doing that, I gave the benefit of the doubt to the FBI. To be honest, it didn't always feel right to me, but I thought it was the best approach. All we asked is that our top official have access to what our employees know. That is in no way a signal of an unwillingess to work. I think the politics of voting "no" last year would have been easier than continuing to work towards a solution.
To now have it framed as a simple matter of trust is not something that sits well with me. It strongly reinforces my decision to support the leadership of Mayor Potter and Comm. Leonard.
The One True b!X on 24 Mar 2005
The reason I think it is important to get this out there is that I expect there will be an effort to paint the Council as unwilling to work with the FBI.
As already demonstrated by the inept KATU poll yesterday which framed the question at hand as one of determining whether or not a "joint effort" is the best way to handle local terrorism matters.
Framing the issue in that way is inherently an implication that the Mayor and other Council members are saying a "joint effort" is not the best way.
Meanwhile, so disappointed that today was not the day for the Oregonian editorial which we all know is coming. Here's hoping Friday will be the day.
Libertarian in PDX on 24 Mar 2005
Regarding trusting the people involved:
Aldrich Ames
Robert Hanssen
Jonathan Pollard
If examples of untrustworthy feds aren't enough, ask Phil Stanford and the staff at the Trib about Portland's cops of yesteryear.
Repeat after me: There can never be too much public oversight. All we should be arguing about is how effective our oversight is.
allehseya on 24 Mar 2005
"Wouldn't it follow, from Special Agent Jordan's comment, that the FBI ought to be willing to trust Mayor Potter and Chief Foxworth as well?"
Which of Jordan's comments are you referring to? Logic doesnt seem to follow them for the most part.
The man just doesnt make a lot of sense in most of them. The one that kills me is Jordan's statement: "the FBI does not supervise their investigations to see if they comply with state law"
To my mind, inherent in the comment is the very logic which explains why the MoU being suspect is justified.
In any event, Mayor Potter has the experience that Foxworth does so that just leaves legal counsel out of negotiations by my count.
The One True b!X on 24 Mar 2005
The comment in question is Jordan's remark as featured in the headline here. Meaning: If the point is to trust those who serve the community, why don't they trust Potter?
allehseya on 24 Mar 2005
heh. (did I mention I'm daft?)
Kayse Jama and Stephanie D. Stephens on 25 Mar 2005
Mayor Potter, Commissioner Randy Leonard, and Commissioner Erik Sten: THANK YOU. Thank you for your willingness to join the effort to keep us safe--and to protect our rights. Thank you for your leadership. And thank you for your courage.
We are residents of Portland and co-founders of Community Language and Culture Bank (CLCB), a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to countering the fear and mistrust isolating Portland's cultural communities. We work very closely with immigrants and refugees in Portland. Many feel under attack. These residents are much more likely to be invovled in civic structures and activities if they trust their government, and those charged with upholding its laws. Because of past wrongful incarcerations, many do not trust the PJTTF. However, they do trust you, our elected officials.
We are grateful that you have offered a resolution that would give Mayor Potter and Cheif Foxworth oversight of the PJTTF. Thank you for taking a stand for Portland's immigrant and refugee communities -- for all of us -- in these days of fear and paranoia.
-Kayse Jama and Stephanie D. Stephens
eric on 01 Apr 2005
I sent a letter to the editor at the O, I hope it is sarcastic enough.
Tom Potter is trying to take a stand against the Joint Terrorism Task Force. What a pinko commie. He thinks "Civilians in a free society should have oversight over the police who serve them." He asks for too much – wanting to know what his subordinates are being ordered to do by the government. He’s way out of line. Potter has asked for “Portland's top civilian leaders [to] have the same security clearances as the police officers who serve on federal task forces.” He not only wants himself to know what the JTTF is doing in Portland, but also for the Chief of Police and the city’s attorney. Talk about untrusting. He doesn’t want the JTTF to do anything illegal like investigate a person or group based on religion or political affiliation. Like an attorney can fix that. A loyal patriotic citizen would trust his country. Shame on him!
-eric: Revolutionary