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The American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations are separately calling for investigations into White House funding of a domestic spying program launched by the New York Police Department against Muslim-Americans.
The AP reported Monday that White House funds managed by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program went to buy equipment and vehicles for a domestic surveillance program designed to infiltrate Muslim groups.
"We are deeply concerned that federal resources may have been used and spying information stored in violation of federal regulations that protect Americans' private and constitutional rights against law enforcement overreach. It's not just Mayor Bloomberg who needs to investigate the NYPD's improper activities, it's now the federal government as well," Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project said in a statement.