FBI Cut Canada Police Ties Over 9/11 Wording
FBI Cut Canada Police Ties Over 9/11 Wording
The News
FBI Director Kash Patel temporarily halted some cooperation between the bureau and Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police this month over a Canadian broadcaster's editorial policy on the word "terrorism," The New York Times reported Friday.
The trigger was an internal CBC memo reminding journalists of a longstanding policy not to call the Sept. 11 attacks "terrorism" without attributing the word to experts.
Bureau officials canceled meetings and told their Canadian counterparts they would be unreachable, according to the Times. The pause lasted until around the Sept. 11 anniversary.
Timeline
The CBC reverses the guidance its journalists had been reminded of.
Patel halts some FBI cooperation with the RCMP anyway, within days of the reversal. FBI officials cancel meetings and tell Canadian counterparts they will be unreachable.
The pause ends. Prime Minister Mark Carney notes that 24 Canadians died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Times reports the halt; Political Wire, MSNBC and Raw Story follow.
Reactions
A prominent law expert branded Patel "unfit" over the move, Raw Story reported, describing the halt in terrorism cooperation as a tantrum.
A White House spokesman did not answer questions about whether President Trump knew about the pause, according to the Times' account.
The Times noted the abrupt move came as Trump was ramping up his attacks on Canada.
What's Next
It is not clear what ended the halt, or whether Canada offered any apology.
Also unanswered: whether the pause touched any active terrorism or cybersecurity investigations. The FBI and the RCMP share intelligence on both.
More
The two agencies' working relationship is a standing channel for counterterrorism and cyber information, which is why a gap in it carries operational risk.
Reporting from the cluster notes that U.S. allies have worried the Trump administration could use intelligence-sharing as leverage. The split in coverage is over whether Patel's action was a legitimate protest or an improper use of law enforcement cooperation as a political tool.
Poll
Was halting FBI cooperation with Canada over a broadcaster's wording policy justified?
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