Mass. Green-Rainbow Party seeks probe of FBI targeting of Turner, calls for charges to be dropped
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The Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party has filed a formal request with the Department of Justice for an investigation into the process by which the FBI targeted Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner in its recent FBI sting operation. The letter states that known facts about the investigation ìraise serious questions regarding whether the Turner action was a legitimate law enforcement activity.î
The letter states that biases in FBI targeting may ìconstitute infringement upon the civil and constitutional rights of Councilor Turner, his constituents, and the members of the Green-Rainbow Party.î
The only specific justification offered in the FBI affidavit for their interest in Turner is an unsubstantiated claim by the cooperating witness that Turner took money for writing a letter of recommendation for an ex-offender. Green-Rainbow Party co-chair Jill Stein noted, ìThis is scarcely the kind of evidence one would expect to trigger an FBI sting operation. Further, the implication that money from ex-offenders is corrupting the political process and warrants a sting is odd. Massachusetts politics is awash with private money on a massive scale – such as the $1.4 million in unreported payments made to a close associate of House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi in return for influencing the award of $17.5 million in state software contracts. With all the real money flowing on Beacon Hill, what prompted the FBI to go after an office holder who could be convicted only if the FBI itself created a crime?î
