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--> --> AG weighs foreigner questioning By Charles E. Beggs Associated Press Writer SALEM - Attorney General Hardy Myers was expected to offer an opinion today on whether Oregon police would violate state law by questioning foreign visitors as part of the federal terrorism probe. Portland police have refused a request from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to interview foreign visitors - the first police department in the nation to do so - on grounds that it would violate state privacy laws. The Oregon State Police are awaiting guidance on how to handle the request from Ashcroft, who has sought assistance from local law enforcement officers across the country in conducting voluntary interviews of 5,000 people. Most are Middle Eastern men in the United States on nonimmigrant visas who hold passports from countries where the United States has identified terrorist cells. A list of 200 names was given to Portland police. Kevin Neeley, a spokesman for Myers, says the attorney general will offer advice to the State Police and state Justice Department investigators. The attorney general by law gives opinions only to state agencies, but Neeley said he expected local police may take cues from it. Neeley said he didn't know of any local police agencies that had asked for Myers' advice. Michael Mosman, U.S. attorney for Oregon, has said he believes the interviews are legal and will likely go ahead. Local agencies, however, have the right to refuse to help. The idea behind the request was to reduce the load on the FBI, he said. Deputy Portland City Attorney David Lesh and Greg Chaimov, the Legislature's chief lawyer, have concluded that some of the two dozen questions that federal officials want asked likely would run afoul of state law. They cited a law barring police from collecting information about "political, religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual" unless the information directly relates to a criminal investigation and there are grounds to suspect the person is or may be involved in a crime. But since Portland said no to Ashcroft's request, the Justice Department has sent the city a narrower list of questions to be asked - with most of the troublesome questions eliminated, city attorney Jeff Rogers said Monday. "We're now analyzing the narrower set of questions" to compare them with Oregon law, Rogers said. "We have a very small number of remaining concerns. We're working on those in various ways," he said. "Things are moving in the right direction." Chaimov said some questions on the original federal list deal with foreign countries a person may have visited and reasons for visits, their reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks and if they share the sympathies of the hijackers. "If they're inquiring about another person's thought process, they can't ask that," he said in an opinion that's not binding on any police. Lesh also cited concerns under another law that basically restrict police from apprehending people whose only offense is that they are foreigners in violation of immigration laws. Chaimov did not agree that that law was relevant. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing