Oops! FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061302453.html

FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting Data

By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 14, 2007; Page A01

An internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in March that ignited bipartisan congressional criticism.

The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau's national security investigations since 2002, and so the mistakes in the FBI's domestic surveillance efforts probably number several thousand, bureau officials said in interviews. The earlier report found 22 violations in a much smaller sampling.

The vast majority of the new violations were instances in which telephone companies and Internet providers gave agents phone and e-mail records the agents did not request and were not authorized to collect. The agents retained the information anyway in their files, which mostly concerned suspected terrorist or espionage activities.

But two dozen of the newly-discovered violations involved agents' requests for information that U.S. law did not allow them to have, according to the audit results provided to The Washington Post. Only two such examples were identified earlier in the smaller sample.

more...

[Heidi]

1. FBI's official comment: "Whoops! Our bad."

:kick:

[annabanana]

2. Fortunately.. they have issued new guidelines

to curb the worst of the excesses:

The FBI warned its agents Wednesday to carefully review all personal data collected from Americans in terror investigations to protect their privacy rights and not to expect the evidence to remain secret.

The warning came in new FBI guidelines issued to correct abuses of so-called national security letters that were revealed in a Justice Department audit three months ago. The letters allow investigators to subpoena evidence, without court approval, in international terrorism and spy cases.

Under the guidelines, which span 24 pages and are effective immediately, investigators must request specific information, and justify its need, before the demand for information is sent. Moreover, agents must lay out reasons the request must remain secret.

That marks a major change in the use of the USA Patriot Act, which governs the use of national security letters, from before it was reauthorized in 2005.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070614/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/n...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2880394

It seems that there are some professionals there who take that whole "constitution" thing more seriously than the current administration.

[babylonsister]

4. It makes me wonder why they'd follow these 'new' guidelines when they

haven't paid attention to the old ones.

[maine_raptor]

3. How about a little math here?

Audit 10% and find 1,000 plus violations.

10 times 1,000 = 10,000.

You know what? Mitt's right, we do have to double the size of Gitmo.

We'll need it to house all the ex-FBI agents awaiting trial!

[spanone]

5. Wow, I'm sure Gonzales & Justice are ready to investigate

:sarcasm:

[Supersedeas]

6. and the Corporate Media Establishment is ready to report the facts....