N.J.: NYPD surveillance didn't violate law

The NYPD did not violate New Jersey laws when it conducted surveillance of Muslim businesses, mosques and student groups, Gov. Chris Christie's administration said Thursday after a three-month review, rejecting demands by Muslim leaders for a formal investigation and a clampdown on cross-border police operations.

Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa, a Christie appointee, was meeting with Muslim leaders to discuss the findings. He said state officials and the New York Police Department have a new agreement to meet regularly to exchange information, and a new directive strengthens notification rules when New Jersey law enforcement learn of operations by outside agencies.

"We remain committed to striking the appropriate balance of ensuring the safety of our citizens through vigilance in fighting terrorism, while not undermining the public's confidence in how we approach that mission," Chiesa said in a statement.

But the findings mean New Jersey Muslims have no state recourse to stop the NYPD from infiltrating student groups, videotaping mosque-goers or collecting their license plate numbers as they pray.

Such operations were part of a widespread NYPD program to collect intelligence on Muslim communities both in New York and beyond. Undercover officers and informants eavesdropped in Muslim cafes and monitored sermons, even when there was no evidence of a crime. The result was that many innocent business owners, students and others were cataloged in police files.

The interstate surveillance efforts angered many Muslims and New Jersey officials. Some, like Newark Mayor Cory Booker and the state's top FBI official, criticized the tactics. Others, like Christie, focused more on the fact that the NYPD didn't tell New Jersey exactly what it was up to.

In response, Chiesa launched what he described as a fact-finding review. That review concluded that the NYPD's operations violated no state laws, either civil or criminal.

Further, authorities found that New Jersey has no laws barring outside law enforcement agencies from secretly conducting operations in the state, representatives of the attorney general's office told The Associated Press. However, New York police have agreed to meet with New Jersey law enforcement regularly to discuss counterterrorism intelligence and operations.

The attorney general planned to explain those conclusions to Muslim leaders Thursday. Chiesa is the governor's former chief counsel, led Christie's transition team when he was elected governor and worked with him when he was U.S. attorney.

Many Muslim leaders had said they would accept nothing less than a formal investigation into the NYPD.

Though civil rights groups argue that the tactics violate federal law, the Justice Department has been reluctant to even discuss the issue. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said he is "disturbed" by what he has read about the NYPD. But nearly a year after members of Congress called for an investigation, the Justice Department says it is still reviewing the letters and hasn't decided whether to look into the matter.