Inspector General Confirms Probe of Rogue FBI Anti-Terror Office

[Ian David]

The Justice Department's Inspector General, along with the FBI, are investigating an office that sent fake, emergency letters to telecoms requesting phone records despite not having applied for the future subpoenas promised in the letters and not having the authority to request the records themselves, according to the Inspector General's office.

That information largely confirms a a Wired News story from last week, which revealed that top FBI officials told privacy groups that a criminal investigation of the office was underway and that individuals had been given immunity in exchange for testimony.

If the investigation looks into possible criminal violations of fraud statutes or a violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, it would mark the first known investigation of government employees for violations of the Patriot Act.

Cynthia Schnedar, the Counsel to the Inspector General, confirmed Thursday that a joint investigation was being conducted by the Inspector General and the FBI. She declined to specify if the investigation was criminal or administrative, saying the office's policy is not to characterize investigations.








More:
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/07/inspector-gener.html

[brainy]

1. THINK ABOUT IT!

I have no problem with that, whatsoever, if the investigations target organized violent criminals (with involvement in child porn, human trafficking, etc), despite not being relevant to 'a terrorism or intelligence investigation.' In fact, I applaud law enforcement for creatively utilizing technology in pursuit of justice in these heinous cases. In fact, I dropped my longstanding ACLU membership over this issue.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[brainy]

3. In fact, you wouldn't know, and it's Mr. n/t