By Crystal Good
West Virginia Press Association
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The value and purpose of West Virginia’s Intelligence Fusion Center was up for debate during a public hearing held Thursday by the House of Delegates’ Judiciary Committee.
Representatives from the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety spoke to the value of the state’s Intelligence Fusion Center, which they said information with a goal of protecting citizens from terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking
West Virginia Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Jim Sandy and Deputy Secretary and General Legal Counsel Tom Kirk spoke on the Fusion Center for DMAPS.
Speakers from the ACLU — Eli Baumwell and Joseph Cohen — spoke against HB 4176, which would codify the the Intelligence Fusion Center. They questioned whether or not the Fusion Center abilities and capabilities could be used to infringe upon civil liberties.
Eli Baumwell said, “Fusion centers enable the government to spy on us.”
Baumwell said the mission of the West Virginia Fusion Center is poorly defined and was critical of the bil’ls language, saying, “It appears we are only targeting terrorism, (but) in other parts it appears any criminal activity could be enough to open a case on someone.”
Rod Cornelius, former chairman of the Wood County Republican Executive Committee, gave testimony criticizing the Governor Justice and the Fusion Center. He shared his account of possible illegal activities involving the Fusion Center’s monitoring of him that included his social media.
Documents submitted to accompany his testimony give a detailed account. Cornelius said, “There is a greater issue the Internet and electronic surveillance by the current executive of his employees, state employees and citizens more generally.”
To read more about Cornelius, visit The Parkersburg News and Sentinel article by Steve Adams here: https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2020/02/chaotic-west-virginia-house-committee-pushes-bills-forward/
Secretary Sandy responded to Cornelius’ claims of misaction by the Fusion Center to monitor him and possibly others. Sandy said Cornelius was being monitored because of a legitimate safety concern from a tweet Cornelius composed that included the telephone number of a Fusion Center employee that had a top secret clearance.
HM 4176 is sponsored by Speaker of the House Delegate Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay; and Delegates Tim Miley D-Harrison; Rodney Miller D-Boone; John Shott R-Mercer; David Kelly R-Tyler; Kayla Kessinger R-Fayette; Joe Canestraro D-Marshall; and Chad Lovejoy D-Cabell.
