Pornography, not Terrorism, is Justice Department's Top Priority
What should the top priority be for federal prosecutors: terrorism? Drugs? No, the top priority for federal prosecutors and the FBI is, at last in the Miami area, obscenity. Yes, the prosecution of otherwise legal pornography is more important than terrorists, drug dealers, espionage, child pornography, or anything else.

Julie Kay explains that this decision comes directly from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales:

[U.S. Attorney Alex] Acosta’s stated goal of prosecuting distributors of adult porn has angered federal and local law enforcement officials, as well as prosecutors in his own office. They say there are far more important issues in a high-crime area like South Florida, which is an international hub at risk for terrorism, money laundering and other dangerous activities.

His own prosecutors have warned Acosta that prioritizing adult porn would reduce resources for prosecuting other crimes, including porn involving children. According to high-level sources who did not want to be identified, Acosta has assigned prosecutors porn cases over their objections. [Law.com]
Law enforcement professionals regard adult pornography as a relatively minor issue — like “dropping gum on the sidewalk,” according to one person interviewed. Those in charge of Justice Department, however, appear to be more interested in satisfying the concerns of religious fanatics than in acting like professionals:

With the rapid growth of Internet pornography, stamping out obscene material has become a major concern for the Bush administration’s powerful Christian conservative supporters. The Mississippi-based American Family Association and other Christian conservative groups have pressured the Justice Department to take action against pornography. The family association has sent weekly letters to U.S. attorneys around the country to pressure them to pursue the makers and distributors of pornography.

“While there are crimes like drugs and public corruption in Miami, this is also a form of corruption and should be a priority,” said Anthony Verdugo, director of the Christian Family Coalition in Miami. “Pornography is a poison and it’s addictive. It’s not a victimless crime. Women are the victims.”
Aside from child pornography cases, no book stores, video stores, or internet sites were targeted or closed under the Clinton administration. Bush appeared to be adopting a similar line, but it looks like that is changing. Gonzales created an Obscenity Prosecution Task Force back in May and it will be working with Bruce Taylor, an anti-porn crusaders from back in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the effort may end up harming children:

Sources say Acosta was told by the FBI officials during last month’s meeting that obscenity prosecution would have to be handled by the crimes against children unit. But that unit is already overworked and would have to take agents off cases of child endangerment to work on adult porn cases. Acosta replied that this was Attorney General Gonzales’ mandate.
No one is taking Acosta very seriously, according to reports, but if Gonzales’ mandate is actually followed, then cases of child endangerment will be neglected in order to go after pornography. That’s an example of the “family values” of the Christian Right and the Bush administration.