Schwarzenegger orders release of homeland security reports
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-03 09:02
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered the release of intelligence
reports prepared for the state Office of Homeland Security, a move
administration officials say will quell complaints that California engaged in
widespread monitoring of political protests.
State lawmakers have complained that two homeland security intelligence
reports from March and April carried details about the location and purpose of
political rallies. The reports were obtained by the Los Angeles Times and
detailed in an article published Saturday.
"The governor believes that any inappropriate information-gathering like this
is totally unacceptable," Adam Mendelsohn, Schwarzenegger's communications
director, told the newspaper.
The governor's homeland security director, Matthew Bettenhausen, said the
rally information was mistakenly included in the reports by a private contractor
working for his office. But some officials complained of overly aggressive
information-gathering by Schwarzenegger's administration.
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, will allow reporters to review about 60
intelligence reports prepared for the homeland security director. Officials said
they will first remove "law-enforcement-sensitive information" and information
about ongoing investigations.
U.S. Congressman George Miller, a Democrat, said the reports should not be
sanitized. Miller attended a Walnut Creek anti-war rally in March that was
listed in a section called "Upcoming California Protests" in one of the reports.
Other political activities cited include a rally outside a Canadian consulate
office in San Francisco to protest seal hunting and a gathering at a Santa
Barbara courthouse to support an anti-war protester facing federal trespassing
charges.
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