Washington, DC – In response to obscenity being designated “one of the top priorities” of the Department of Justice and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began seeking agents to staff a new anti-obscenity task force in early August. While spokespersons and various officials of the DOJ and FBI defend the anti-obscenity effort, some many investigators and street-level agents are privately questioning the validity of treating adult obscenity as a high priority issue.

The Washington Post reports that FBI agents speaking on the condition of anonymity consider the obscenity effort “a running joke”, and say that the task force is the subject of many jokes among colleagues and friends within the agency.

“I guess this means we’ve won the war on terror,” one agent quipped in an interview with the Post “We must not need any more resources for espionage.”

Public representatives of both Justice and the Bureau were quick to offer a united front, and assert the legitimacy of their anti-obscenity efforts.

“The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s top priority remains fighting the war on terrorism,” said Brian Roehrkasse, DOJ press secretary. “However, it is not our sole priority.” In fact, Congress has directed the department to focus on other priorities, such as obscenity.”

FBI spokeswoman Debra Weierman insisted that the agency welcomes the task of investigating adult obscenity, and offered a different take on the Bureau’s internal attitude toward the increased attention being paid to the issue.

Weierman said the obscenity squad “stems from an attorney general mandate, funded by Congress. The personnel assigned to this initiative take the responsibility of this assignment very seriously and are dedicated to the success of this program.”

The creation of the FBI task force came shortly after a similar squad was assembled within the DOJ in May, headed up by Deputy Chief for Obscenity Richard Green. Green is to work closely with Bruce Taylor a founding member of the DOJ’s National Obscenity Enforcement Unit in the 1980’s.

The DOJ and FBI task forces reflect a sharp increase in the focus on adult obscenity on the part of the federal government since 2001. According to the spring issue of the DOJ’s “Obscenity Prosecution News” (available at http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/obs032604.pdf ) since the beginning of 2001, the DOJ has “significantly increased its obscenity prosecutions”, and there have been 40 obscenity convictions Department-wide since 2001.

“From calendar years 1993 through 2000, CEOS handled only 4 obscenity prosecutions,” the newsletter states. “From calendar year 2001 through February 1, 2005, CEOS (the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section) has obtained convictions in 11 obscenity prosecutions involving receipt, distribution, or transfer of images of adult obscenity, and related charges; has pending indictments in 5 cases; and is currently handling approximately 15 active investigations, with many more in preliminary stages. These numbers reflect a more than 675% increase in CEOS obscenity prosecutions over the prior eight years.”

In their newsletter, the DOJ rejects the concerns of critics who suggest that devoting so much attention to adult obscenity is indicative of improper priorities, asserting to the contrary that the continued focus on obscenity demonstrates a laudable effort on the behalf of the administration and the DOJ to multi-task.

“The renewal of obscenity prosecutions during this Administration is a direct result of the emphasis placed on the importance of obscenity law enforcement by the President and Attorney General,” the newsletter states. “It is significant that, after September 11th, 2001, the Department of Justice maintained its commitment to enforce many domestic criminal statutes that affect the quality of life, the tone of commerce, and the welfare of the family, including violent crime, drugs, corporate fraud, use of the Internet as a criminal tool, and obscenity, as well as child pornography, sexual abuse, and trafficking in women and children for prostitution and servitude.”