Author of anti-polygraph training book indicted on obstruction of justice charges
11-17-2014, 11:54 AM
http://reason.com/blog/2014/11/17/former...ctment-for
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-poly...ministered
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/16/19.../156/&rh=1
So I heard a couple of things about all this in the past, but this morning I encountered this article in my daily perusal of Reason and thought I'd pass it along. I'm by no means a legal expert, but shouldn't writing these kinds of materials be protected under the first amendment?
It seems to me like the government is just trying to punish these guys by making them spend a lot of money and time defending themselves against false charges.
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Via Slashdot comes this awful story of a former Oklahoma City cop who has been indicted by the federal government for allegedly teaching people how to beat so-called lie-detector tests. Douglas Williams Williams is the Big Kahuna of the anti-polygraph movement. He's not shy about what he's up to. Here's his website.
Especially in the wake of the Edward Snowden affair, the feds are worried that "trained liars" will beat their tests that are supposedly unbeatable. These tests, which aren't admissible in court and are about as "scientific" as astrology, are nonetheless widely used by federal and other law-enforcement agencies to test job applicants, workers, and people accused of crimes.
"There is no unique physiological signature that is associated with lying," Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists told Reason earlier this year. "You can learn to regulate your heartbeat, you can learn to control your breath, and you can generate spurious signals."
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-poly...ministered
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A former Oklahoma City law enforcement officer and owner of “Polygraph.com” has been indicted on obstruction of justice and mail fraud charges for allegedly training customers to lie and conceal crimes during polygraph examinations.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Morgan of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Internal Affairs and Special Agent in Charge James E. Finch of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
Douglas Williams, 69, of Norman, Oklahoma, was charged in a five-count indictment in the Western District of Oklahoma with mail fraud and obstruction. According to allegations in the indictment, Williams, the owner and operator of “Polygraph.com,” marketed his training services to people appearing for polygraph examinations before federal law enforcement agencies, federal intelligence agencies, and state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as people required to take polygraph examinations under the terms of their parole or probation.
The indictment further alleges that Williams trained an individual posing as a federal law enforcement officer to lie and conceal involvement in criminal activity from an internal agency investigation. Williams is also alleged to have trained a second individual posing as an applicant seeking federal employment to lie and conceal crimes in a pre-employment polygraph examination. Williams, who was paid for both training sessions, is alleged to have instructed the individuals to deny having received his polygraph training.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being investigated by U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s Office of Internal Affairs and the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Mark Angehr and Brian K. Kidd of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/16/19.../156/&rh=1
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So far, authorities have targeted at least two instructors, one of whom has pleaded guilty to federal charges, several people familiar with the investigation told McClatchy. Investigators confiscated business records from the two men, which included the names of as many as 5,000 people who’d sought polygraph-beating advice. U.S. agencies have determined that at least 20 of them applied for government and federal contracting jobs, and at least half of that group was hired, including by the National Security Agency.
By attempting to prosecute the instructors, federal officials are adopting a controversial legal stance that sharing such information should be treated as a crime and isn’t protected under the First Amendment in some circumstances.
“Nothing like this has been done before,” John Schwartz, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, said of the legal approach in a June speech to a professional polygraphers’ conference in Charlotte, N.C., that a McClatchy reporter attended. “Most certainly our nation’s security will be enhanced.”
“There are a lot of bad people out there. . . . This will help us remove some of those pests from society,” he added.
The undercover stings are being cited as the latest examples of the Obama administration’s emphasis on rooting out “insider threats,” a catchall phrase meant to describe employees who might become spies, leak to the news media, commit crimes or become corrupted in some way.
So I heard a couple of things about all this in the past, but this morning I encountered this article in my daily perusal of Reason and thought I'd pass it along. I'm by no means a legal expert, but shouldn't writing these kinds of materials be protected under the first amendment?
It seems to me like the government is just trying to punish these guys by making them spend a lot of money and time defending themselves against false charges.
"Men willingly believe what they wish." - Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico, Book III, Ch. 18