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| For Immediate Release | |
| Jul 5, 2000 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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Rev. Jerry Falwell Sues White House, FBI on Illegal Files and VAAPCON Database (Washington, D.C.) A federal court will hear arguments today in a lawsuit filed by Dr. Jerry Falwell and his ministries against the Clinton-Gore White House and the FBI. The lawsuit alleges that the Clinton-Gore White House and the FBI were illegally maintaining files on Dr. Falwell and other in violation of the Privacy Act. Dr. Falwell is represented by the public interest law firm Judicial Watch and Jerry Falwell, Jr. The case is before Judge Samuel G. Wilson. Dr. Falwell filed the case in the wake of revelations by Judicial Watch that the FBI was maintaining a secret database, known by the acronym VAAPCON (Violence Against Abortion Providers Conspiracy), on pro-life and religious leaders such as Dr. Falwell. An anonymous source told Judicial Watch that the FBI database contained biographical and political information on pro-life and religious leaders who had nothing to do with abortion violence. This database was, according to the Judicial Watch source, maintained by orders of the upper levels of the Clinton-Gore Justice Department over the objections of some in the FBI. Recent reports in Insight Magazine and The New York Post have confirmed the illicit, politicized motivations of this database. Additionally, the Clinton-Gore White House has refused, contrary to the Privacy Act, to turn over any files it has on Dr. Falwell. "This Administration has a sordid history of misusing government files against its perceived political opponents," said Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. |
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