◆ SpookStack

ED-350 (Rev. 12.5-78) er e _ . ( ‘cate page, name of - sper ciiy end state, Page ~ 12 ate Journal -Register Springfield, Ill. (Mount Clipping in Spoce Below) _ | Tite: Editorial Re: ABSCAM ics epee ey tT egeret “prove cover a Te aT Character: or Classification: 194-122 Submitting Office:SI ir Was T WAS TO BE. expected that members of Congress ensnared in the FBI's Abscam sting would cry foul and assert that government agents had resorted to entrapment. What other defense was possible for ‘public officials videotaped in the act of stuffing their pockets with tens of thousands of dollars in bribes? The allegations of entrapment, nonetheless, raised serious legal questions. A number of respected civil libertarians condemned ‘the - Abscam operation on just those grounds. And it was apparent that * the government's prosecution of the Abscam defendants would be com- promised if not wrecked altogether if it could be shown that agents had induced the six congressmen and other public officials to commit crimes they were not predisposed to commit. Thanks to an enlightened decision by a federal appeals court, subse- quently upheld by the United States Supreme Court, the public has now seen the first of the Abscam video- tapes — that of former US. Rep. Michael O. Myers accepting $50,000 in exchange for favors be promised, including the introduction of private immigration legislation. THERE CANT BE any doubt, morally at Jeast, about whether ‘ “Ozzie” Myers was entrapped. He wasn’L Undercover FBI agents had only to allude to the immigration and business problems of their Arab - “clients” and mention that there was “a ton of money in this.” . Myers could hardly contain him- self: “Special legislation can be in- —» troduced... oMbiey talks in this business ... the same way it does in’ Washington .... You're going about it in the right way .... I'm the man: for the job.” Myers volunteered to “handle” the Philadelphia City Council — “those that can’t be persuaded can be bought” One undercover agent wondered aloud about the Mafia. “Leave that to me,” said Myers. In short, this was a congressman so pateftly on the take that he sold his public trust on the spot and later returned to ask for another $35,000. It's no wonder that the House of Representatives voted overwhelm- ingly to expel Myers — the first member to be drummed out of the House since the Civil War — after screening his command perform- ance as the eager grafter. THERE IS A larger lesson to be drawn from the Abscam case in general ‘and the Myers videotape in: particular. The FBI cazinot hope to' mount a credible attack on white- collar crime and most especially on political corruption unless it can employ. the kind of undercover tac- tics that nailed Ozzie Myers. “ Meanwhile, civil libertarians who. are offended that congressmen are baited with money are having their ‘day in court. This serves a useful. purpose and we're glad these critics remain onthe job. { =: But the Myers case and others ‘stethming from Abscam constitute a! ~ compelling argument for an aggres-! sive FBI employing the tactics it” must to search out corruption in high Places. , FBi/Do7