CISPES was investigated first by the FBI in 1981 to determine whether it was in compliance with the Foreign Agents' Registration Act. Later CISPES was investigated by the FBI because it was alleged to provide illegal financial support to two Salvadoran terrorist groups. In 1988 FBI Director Sessions reported to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that certain parts of the CISPES investigation by the FBI were flawed, but that the overall inquiry into the group's activities was necessary because it posed a terrorist threat to the United States by representing extreme opposition to the policies of the Reagan administration. While democracies must tolerate some behavior of subversive organizations or hostile governments, they also have a right to prevent subversive and hostile groups from presenting a clear and present danger to national security. The FBI must maintain that balance through well-managed surveillance of suspected international terrorists. 27 footnotes.