FBI agents seeking phone records used 'startling' methods

[Liberal_in_LA]

FBI agents seeking phone records used 'startling' methods


By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 20, 2010; 2:24 PM

FBI agents seeking telephone records demanded information from phone companies in a variety of "startling" and illicit methods, including e-mail and post-it notes, in an "egregious breakdown" of safeguards and oversight, the Justice Department's inspector general reported Wednesday.

The long-awaited investigative report describes numerous lapses by FBI agents seeking material through more than 700 emergency letters to phone service providers between 2002 and 2006, many of which did not involve real urgency, officials said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/20/AR2010012002070.html?hpid=topnews

[atreides1]

1. In other words they broke the law.

But as with other alleged criminal acts from the previous administration, nothing will happen, because they were just following orders after all.

[gratuitous]

2. Who could possibly be "startled" by this?

And all I can do is point to shit like this when I hear people talk about the efficacy of the full body scanners being proposed for the airports and other such police state folderol. These powers will be abused. They will not work the way they're presented. So much information will be amassed that it can't possibly be digested and analyzed in a timely fashion. And when some low-paid drone is presented with an overwhelming mountain of data, he'll do what humans always do: Pick out the most interesting things and share them with his pals. Terrorist with bomb? Pass. Hot babe showing off body parts that are customarily covered? Elevated level of scrutiny!

[gkhouston]

3. "Startling" to whom? Most of the folks I know have long suspected this.

Will anything ever be done to stop this, or to hold the perpetrators accountable?

[Wilms]

4. Perhaps Obama will CHANGE the FBI director. Having the McSame guy in there is status quo. n/t

[Bitwit1234]

5. And I bet the records were of democrats OR

organizations against the republicans. bush and company wanted desperately to know what the democrats were doing.

[hvn_nbr_2]

6. It would be startling if the FBI obeyed the law and the constitution.

Now, THAT would be a departure from the J. Edna Hoover tradition.