Washington: The FBI's Sorry Story

After Salvadoran Expatriate Frank Varelli became an FBI informant in Dallas in 1981, his tales of links between Marxist rebels and the U.S.-based Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador triggered a two-year nationwide surveillance of CISPES and nine other activist groups. But FBI Director William Sessions told Congress last week that much of Varelli's story turned out not to be true, and the CISPES probe involved serious "mistakes in judgment."

Sessions announced disciplinary action against six agents, including four supervisors. All have had letters of reprimand placed in their permanent personnel files, and three were suspended for two weeks without pay. Sessions also promised to tighten the bureau's procedures. The victims of the FBI fishing expedition have plans of their own: court action to force the bureau to expunge their names from its files.