Justice Department Handed Over Blog Documents

After 178 years "out of the game" so to speak, I have to say how interesting things are getting here in Vermont. Former reporters now work as press spokesman, former press aides work as column writers, journalists mask their "objectivity" by writing opinion columns, and "yellow" journalism has now gone anonymous.

How I long for the days of John Jay and James Madison when anonymity served a noble purpose.

But here, in modern-day Vermont, anonymity has afforded some to mask their identity while attempting to destroy lives...that's unfortunate.

Justice Department sources confirm today that documents pertaining to "BlierWatch", an anonymous blog that has surfaced in recent months here in Vermont, have been turned over to the Criminal Investigation Division for possible Telecommunications Act violations by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC would not say how long they've been monitoring the site and would not confirm who had filed the complaint.

Sources say it is a violation of federal law to use telephone lines in order to "harass, mislead, or conspire to commit fraud". Since cyberspace travels through the nation's telephone lines, any violation would fall under federal jurisdiction.

Google, the parent company of eBlogger, is said to be cooperating with the investigation. Sources at the Justice Department would not comment directly on the details of the investigation or where they are in the process. It also could not be confirmed whether or not the Vermont Attorney General's office has received any notification or referral by the Justice Department recommending an investigation to see if any Vermont's laws have been violated. The Vermont AG's office would not confirm our request for information.