Is the CIA Using the NYPD to Illegally Spy on Muslims?

A new report suggests that the CIA is funding spying activities through New York's police.

This week, the Associated Press released a shocking investigative report on intelligence activities in New York since September 11, 2001. After interviewing over 40 New York police officials, the AP found that the CIA is engaged in a joint effort with the NYPD to spy on New York’s Muslim communities using tactics the federal government cannot legally employ. The AP claims that undercover officers called “rakers” have been sent into minority neighbourhoods to monitor daily life at bookstores and nightclubs while “mosque crawlers” serve as informants monitoring sermons at mosques. The AP also found that the department attempted to track the taxi commission of every Pakistani cab driver in New York City and every mosque in a 100-mile radius. In response, an Al Jazeera article refers to New York as the “Occupied Territories.” The Justice Department agreed to review the case, although the NYPD insists that it only follows leads. Because nothing screams “legitimate evidence of wrongdoing” like driving a taxi.