The head of the FBI is defending the actions of an agent who posed as an Associated Press reporter in order to catch a teen suspected of making bomb threats in 2007 against his high school near Olympia, Washington.
'We do use deception at times to catch crooks, but we are acting responsibly and legally,' FBI Director James Comey said in response to criticism from the news organization, angered the agency 'misappropriated the trusted name of bberitaa.blogspot.com.'
In 2007, the FBI authorized an agent to pose as a member of the press covering the bomb threats in a move to stroke the suspect's ego, 'relying on an agency behavioral assessment that the anonymous suspect was a narcissist,' Comey explained in a letter to the New York Times about the incident, titled ' To Catch a Crook.'
The fake journalist then sent a bogus draft story, posted online, about the bomb threats to the teen for his review.
The fake story carried an AP byline and was posted to a webpage closely resembling the design of the Seattle Times website.
When the suspect clicked on the link to the write up, thanks to software encrypted in the link, he unwittingly identified his location and he was arrested a short time later.
'No actual story was published, and no one except the suspect interacted with the undercover 'A.P.' employee or saw the fake draft story. Only the suspect was fooled, and it led to his arrest and the end of a frightening period for a high school,' Comey added.
But the AP said the 'unacceptable tactics undermine AP and the vital distinction between the government and the press.'
The Seattle Times similarly blasted the FBI for the deception, 'our reputation and our ability to do our job as a government watchdog are based on trust ... The FBI's actions, taken without our knowledge, traded on our reputation and put it at peril,' Seattle Times editor Kathy Best said in October.
This week, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press also raised their protest in a letter sent to Comey and Attorney General Eric Holder.
But Comey seemed unfazed, defending the cyber sting operation to the Times as 'proper and appropriate..'
'Every undercover operation involves 'deception,' which has long been a critical tool in fighting crime.'
llarson@nydailynews.com
Posted by Unknown on Friday, November 7, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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