Ron Paul on the FBI’s refusal to say whether it spied on Campaign for Liberty

By John McCardell

​Campaign for Liberty Chairman Ron Paul issued a statement regarding recent revelations that the FBI has potentially been spying on domestic organizations, including Campaign for Liberty.

CATO Institute scholar Patrick Eddington submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, asking whether the bureau had ever conducted warrantless surveillance on a number of pro-civil liberties groups, including Campaign for Liberty. The FBI's response was that it could “neither confirm nor deny” that they have been spying on Campaign for Liberty. In Mr. Eddington's professional experience, such a denial from the government typically means the affirmative.

Dr. Paul — “The idea that the FBI would target Campaign for Liberty for surveillance should outrage every American. Our work to educate, train, and mobilize grassroots activists for the cause of limited government and individual liberty is precisely the type of activity the Founders were most interested in protecting when they added the First Amendment to the Constitution.

“The FBI has so little regard for American’s constitutional rights that they refuse to even give a straight answer when asked if they are, or have ever, subjected Campaign of Liberty to any form of surveillance.

“Campaign for Liberty will continue to work to pressure Congress to do their duty and uncover the truth about FBI spying on us and other organizations and rein in all rogue federal agencies that violate our liberties in the name of keeping us safe.”

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