Broader FBI powers sought

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A U.S. Justice Department plan would allow FBI agents to open an investigation against someone without basis for suspicion, congressional sources claim.

Some Democratic senators called the report troubling, The New York Times said.

Little is known about its precise language but the plan has generated intense interest and speculation. Civil liberties advocates see it giving the government even broader license to open terrorism inquiries, the Times reported.

Four Democratic senators told U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey in a letter Wednesday that they were troubled by what they heard. The senators said the new guidelines "might permit an innocent American to be subjected to such intrusive surveillance based in part on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or on protected First Amendment activities."

Mukasey denied that could happen and emphasized the FBI would still need a "valid purpose" for an investigation, the Times said.

The White House has been seeking to formalize in law and regulation some of the aggressive counter-terrorism steps it has already taken in practice since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.