Chamber of Commerce Lawyers and Private Security Firms Involved in Million Dollar Spying Operation to Ruin NGOs, Reporters, Unions and Their Families, According to StopTheChamber.com

Watchdog Group Calls For Congressional And Department Of Justice Investigations  

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a stunning development, Think Progress http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/10/lobbyists-chamberleaks/ reported on Thursday, February 10, 2011, that U.S. Chamber of Commerce law firm, Hunton & Williams, conspired with three private security firms HBGary Federal, Berico Technologies, and Palantir Technologies--to create a multimillion dollar intelligence operation to destroy Chamber opposition groups StopTheChamber.com, Velvet Revolution and its staff, including journalist Brad Friedman.  Also targeted were SEIU, reporter Glenn Greenwald, Change to Win and ChamberWatch.Org. In a plot straight out of Hollywood, this plan was exposed after Hunton & Williams brought in the three firms to target the Anonymous Network, which had been supporting WikiLeaks. Aaron Barr, the CEO of HBGary, bragged in a February 5, 2011 article that he was going to take down Anonymous. Anonymous responded by shutting down HBGary's web presence and extracting more than 76,000 emails from HBGary's servers. Those emails disclosed not only the planned attack on Anonymous, but also the planned attack on the Chamber opposition organizations, which involved covert infiltration, planting false documents, spreading disinformation, spying operations, cyberstalking, defamation, and harassment.

"The operation planned by Chamber lawyers and private security firms with close ties to the military and intelligence community involved methods developed for use against foreign terrorist groups and rogue countries that pose a threat to our national security," said StopTheChamber lawyer and spokesman, Kevin Zeese.  "It is breathtaking that that these tactics were being used domestically against reporters, unions and non-profit organizations engaged in legally protected First Amendment activity. The plans even targeted family members, including children.  These are the tactics we hear about in countries run by dictators and condemned by our own government.  Yet, the plans had already been implemented and, but for the fortuitous intervention of Anonymous, they would have moved into Phases Two and Three with millions of dollars in funding provided, according to the disclosed documents, by Hunton & Williams on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is outrageous.  We are calling for immediate hearings by Members of both the House and Senate, and for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those involved with this abhorrent, unconstitutional conduct."

www.StopTheChamber.com has posted a petition online for people to sign calling for these investigations.  Citizens can sign it at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/investigate_chamber_spying/.

www.StopTheChamber.com will be providing regular updates about this developing story.

SOURCE www.StopTheChamber.com