Posted on 08/09/2002 3:23:46 PM PDT by TomGuy
Secret Service Agent Who Wrote Anti-Muslim Statements During Search to Be Suspended Without Pay
By Bree Fowler Associated Press Writer
Published: Aug 9, 2002
DETROIT (AP) - A Secret Service agent who admitted he scrawled anti-Muslim statements on a prayer calendar during a search will be suspended for six months without pay, a federal prosecutor said Friday.
U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins said the agent won't face criminal charges. He said the suspension, which amounts to a financial loss of about $40,000, and other sanctions were greater punishment than any misdemeanor charge would have been.
"I think his career, which was on track for great things before this, has essentially been derailed," Collins said.
On July 18, federal agents searched the Dearborn home of Omar Shishani, who has pleaded innocent to smuggling $12 million in bogus cashier's checks into the United States.
Members of Shishani's family said they discovered after the search that "Islam is Evil" and "Christ is King" had been written on the calendar.
The agent, identified only as a 10-year veteran, will be transferred out of the Eastern District of Michigan and has written a letter of apology to Shishani and his family.
"We're satisfied with the decision," said Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which had asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate. "And we hope that the punishment meted out would be a signal to others that such bigotry would not be tolerated."
The FBI is investigating whether Shishani has ties to terrorist organizations, but his name is not on the American terrorist watch list, law enforcement officials have said.
AP-ES-08-09-02 1803EDT
It'd be steep if it was mere vandalism (i.e., a private citizen doing it).
But this is an armed agent of the State. (I think the legal term is "acting under the color of law.") Those who enforce the Law must obey the Law; they should be punished far more severely than private citizens.
It doesn't take a "PC Leftist" to want to see armed agents of the State made to respect their employers -- the American people. This past decade has seen an explosion of SWATs. I think even the Parks Dept has a SWAT division. Gonzo cops shot an elderly Malibu man suspected of growing pot (he wasn't). And yes, there's WACO, and the LAPD's Ramparts Division, and many other police/FBI scandals.
The Secret Service are servants of the people -- and should be humble, respectful, and polite in the presence of the American people (yes, even Arab and Muslim Americans). All True Conservatives, who appreciate limited govt, should understand that.
Why don't I feel any Christian love emanating from you?
The world is upside down.
Good point. He's probably been promoted to a position in senior management since then.
You are so sadly naive. You think the family just took it sitting down? They got NOWHERE against the FBI whitewash and coverup. The agent was transferred and never even made a statement, he is "unavailable".
Wake up and smell the rotten roses, CB.
After all my posts attacking the State and its lies, you think I don't smell the rot?
What he did was stupid and uncalled for. But suspending him without pay during a time we are looking for real terrorists is not only PC uncalled for, it is dangerous.
It's as if some of Chesty Puller's troops on Guadalcanal had mad a racial slur against the Japanese and were sent to the brig for 90 days during the battle.
Go figure.
Do we really want to win this thing? Must we destroy our soldiers for the sake of PC?
Depends on how you define the "thing".
If it's the "War on Terrorism", it's apparent to me that the answer is "NO".
If it's the war on our Rights, the answer is "YES".
He should have flipped the pages up and wrote on the Ramadan dates. Then they wouldn't have seen it for a couple or three months :}
Seriously, although this was certainly un-professional the punishment--@ $40,000 IN COMBINED SALARY AND BENEFITS, NOT STRAIGHT SALARY-- is too harsh IMO. Obviously this was done so that his superiors and the prosecutor's office could suck Muslim, presstitute and left-wing ass. Which is really what counts in Amerika isn't it?
I wonder how the severity of this punishment will affect the desire for diligence among other SS agents?
Actually I think it is. None of the cops I know make 80k and when I was in the Navy I don't think even the captain (CDR) of my ship (9600 ton/400+crew destroyer) made that much... I know I didn't as a 7 year E-5/PO2..
I don't begrudge the SS their money, I just have always thought it strange that other (non-mil) federal employees could make so much more money.
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