NYPD and FBI Fighting Like An Old Married Couple

An ongoing dispute over surveillance warrants between the F.B.I.’s New York office and the NYPD "has brought the relationship to a new low,"according to the Times, which is reporting on "a highly unusual exchange of letters" between commissioner Ray Kelly and attorney general Michael Mukasey. The acrimony stems from the feds' reluctance to press the FISA court to issue broad warrants for the NYPD, which wants to eavesdrop on "numerous communications facilities," including subway pay phones. Each side is now blaming the other for mishandling terrorism investigations. Responding to a letter from Kelly in which he accused the FBI of making "the city less safe," Mukasey wrote: "Not only would your approach violate the law, it would also in short order make New York City and the rest of the country less safe." Mukasey added that he was "unable to have a meaningful conversation" on the phone because "you were not versed on the facts." Next: Mukasey will get upset with Kelly for staggering home drunk with lipstick on his collar.