Mayor John Street
Mayor Says Bug Part Of Political Attack
Wed Oct 8 21:28:01 2003
64.140.158.73

Feds Planted Bug In Street's Office
Mayor Says Bug Part Of Political Attack NBC News has confirmed that it was federal investigators who placed an electronic device in Philadelphia mayor John Street's office.
http://www.nbc10.com/politics/2541019/detail.html



Mayor John Street

NBC News correspondent Pete Williams said that several sources confirmed to him that the device was placed in the office by the U.S. government.

However, a law enforcement official cautioned that the presence of the bug there does not necessarily mean that the mayor, himself, is under investigation. Officials confirmed to NBC News it was put in place by federal investigators, though they won't say specifically whether it was the work of the FBI or another agency.

Williams said it was unclear if the surveillance was directly related to two ongoing federal investigations in Philadelphia.

One current investigation involves a no-bid, $1 million-a-year airport-services contract between the Street administration and a company owned by the mayor's brother, Milton Street.

The other investigation is related to an alleged parking-ticket fixing scandal involving more than 125,000 parking tickets between 1997 and March 2003. News of the federal parking-ticket probe first surfaced in March 2003.

The discovery of the hidden listening devices in Street's City Hall office (in locations pictured, right) has touched off a political frenzy in Philadelphia as the Justice Department refused to say publicly whether FBI agents planted the contraption and Democrats suggested the bugging was politically motivated.

Earlier Wednesday, Street's office said it believed the device may have been planted by his Republican opponents.

"What the campaign does find incredibly curious is that the FBI could so quickly leap to the conclusion that this was not related to the mayoral campaign in any way, shape or form," said Street campaign spokesman Frank Keel. "The timing of the discovery of these listening devices seems incredibly strange, seeing that we are four weeks out of the election, and we have a Democratic mayor ahead in the polls, and we are on the eve of the first mayoral debate."

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said that with a mayoral election looming on Nov. 4, the FBI had an "overwhelming duty" to tell the public what it knows about the surveillance equipment, found Tuesday morning during a routine sweep of Street's office by city police.

"I think given this extraordinary situation with four weeks to go in the campaign, it is incumbent upon the FBI to say why they planted the device," said Rendell, adding he had no firsthand knowledge of the FBI's involvement. "I think they've got an obligation to the people of Philadelphia to tell why they planted it."

FBI spokesman Linda Vizi said the equipment was not connected to campaign espionage, but she refused to say whether Street was being investigated or whether the FBI planted the device. She also wouldn't explain how the FBI could say so quickly that the device was not connected to the mayor's race.

A spokeswoman for Rendell, Kate Philips, said the governor had spoken to Street about the bugging, and the mayor said law enforcement sources had informed him that the bugs were planted as part of a federal probe. Street also told Rendell that he had been informed that he was not the investigation's "specific target," Philips said.

Street's campaign suggested the bugging could have been instigated by the Bush administration.

Asked directly whether he was suggesting that a Republican-controlled Justice Department had bugged Street's office for political reasons, Keel said:

"Do we believe that the Republican Party, both at the federal level and state level, is pulling out every stop to get Pennsylvania in 2004? Absolutely. Is the Republican Party capable of dirty tricks? I think that is well documented."

In a news conference Tuesday, Street called the discovery "a huge matter of concern."

"The question that ultimately will get raised in the minds of some people is who's investigating the mayor's office?" Street said. "Well, in response to that question, I want to assure the people of this city that this mayor is not being investigated. I have done nothing wrong."

Officials would not say where in the office the device had been found or how long it was believed to have been in place.

Philadelphia city prosecutors had nothing to do with the bugging, said Cathie Abookire, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Lynne Abraham.

Article:
How Did Investigators Get Permission To Bug The Mayor?
http://www.nbc10.com/politics/2541139/detail.html

How Did Investigators Get Permission To Bug The Mayor?
NBC News correspondent Pete Williams told NBC 10's Tim Lake that a federal judge has to approve the planting of bugs by federal investigators.

Under the law several things, investigators have to go to the Justice Department to get permission to do wire taps or place hidden listening devices.

Then, when investigators go before a judge, they have to say there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed.

They must prove their case can only be proved by using the listening device, that they tried other means to investigate the crime and they are not working, or it's just too dangerous to try other means or other means are not likely to be successful.

So they must meet a higher standard than a normal investigative technique or search warrant.

If the governor of Pennsylvania wants an explanation, it is likely it won't come quickly.

It's against the law, once a wiretap court order is issued, to disclose why a bug was requested in the first place.

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