Lawmakers Threaten FBI Over Spy Powers(Conyer's hearing)

[maddezmom]

Source: Associated Press

Lawmakers Threaten FBI Over Spy Powers


By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 12:44 PM EDT

WASHINGTON - Republicans and Democrats sternly warned the FBI on Tuesday that it could lose its broad power to collect telephone, e-mail and financial records to hunt terrorists if the agency doesn't quickly address widespread abuses of the authority detailed in a recent internal investigation.

Their threats came as the Justice Department's chief watchdog, Glenn A. Fine, told a House panel that the FBI engaged in widespread and serious misuse of its authority in illegally collecting the information from Americans and foreigners through so-called national security letters.

If the FBI doesn't move swiftly to correct the mistakes and problems revealed last week in Fine's 130-page report, "you probably won't have NSL authority," said Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., a supporter of the power, referring to the data requests by their initials.

~snip~

"This was a serious breach of trust," said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the Judiciary chairman. "The department had converted this tool into a handy shortcut to illegally gather vast amounts of private information while at the same time significantly underreporting its activities to Congress."




Read more: http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2007/03/20/ap/headlines/d8o00s100.txt

[EST]

1. I watched part of that hearing.

Dismay is probably my greatest reaction, leaving out anger, frustration, some hate, distrust, and an overwhelming joy that we finally have some honest people in there.
I hope and trust this is only the beginning of a complete airing of the government and corrosive secrecy. This has been sorely needed for a hundred years.

The awful thing that people forget and politicians seem never to have learned is that every organization, from the biggest to the little committee in a fifty member church, has at its core a drive to grow, expand, and acquire more power. Every organization has to have severe oversight and limits. This is fundamental and with the powers already extant in the government, their ability to do mischief is huge.

[peacetalksforall]

2. Does anyone hold any suspiciion that they might have already

collected all they need - mission accomplished - files compiled - no big deal to admit mistakes and pretend they are starting over?

[maddezmom]

4. perhaps, but if it was against any of the USAs

they will be long pressed against using them now after the recent blowup. But god only knows what they have on others. We all knew they would abuse it and they did. :mad: I'm just hoping we'll be able to reign in these assholes before it's too late.

[IWantAChange]

3. Someone has to take a look at what has been collected to date

in addition to the violations of the over-reach of the so-called national security letters. Slapping them and the Admin on the wrist for illegally widening the scope isn't as important as what they may have collected on those that should not have been looked at.

[ShockediSay]

6. Building "a permanent Republican majority" is what everything is all about

in comments attributed to Karl Rove and endorsed on radio this morning by Tom DeLay

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8991717

Isn't Putin building a "permanent majority " in the former Russian democracy?

[Kagemusha]

5. The word's out the FBI's new procedures don't even require NSL's.

The FBI should just ask and receive, because the telcos sure don't care if they don't receive valid NSL's or subpoenas.

[BadgerKid]

7. This is at WaPo now (LINK)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/19/AR2007031901775.html

[heatstreak]

8. kick