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Today's Must Read
Stop the presses: enhanced powers given to the FBI to obtain communications or financial data in national security investigations without judicial approval... has been repeatedly abused!
In March, the Justice Department's inspector general, Glenn Fine, disclosed 22 cases of misconduct in agents' use of National Security Letters, a power given under the Patriot Act allowing the FBI to in effect subpoena e-mail, telephone and financial records from third parties -- like internet service providers -- entirely in secret. NSL's, as they're known, are only supposed to be used in terrorism cases, and only when agents are able to provide "specific and articulable" reasons tying the subject of the data to a terrorism investigation.
Fine discovered the FBI had been using NSL's to circumvent the more cumbersome process of obtaining warrants, relying on NSLs in non-terrorism cases or under circumstances where they didn't meet the "specific and articulable" threshold. That, however, was on a relatively limited scale -- 22 cases out of a sample of 293 -- although Fine noted that between 2002 and 2006, the FBI issued a staggering 19,000 NSL's. Today, the Washington Post finds that the March report only scratches the surface:
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.
When the story broke in March, embattled FBI Director Robert Mueller promised the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was acting expeditiously to fix the problem.
According to the Post, the audit has so far turned up no evidence of intentional wrongdoing. Instead, its found that the FBI has been less than rigorous in ensuring that agents understand that NSLs are supposed to be used only in terrorism-related emergencies, and carry with them a strict limit on how long collected information may be retained. Once again, the FBI is promising that it'll put enhanced safeguards into place, and now has a "clear plan" to do so:
Of the more than 1,000 violations uncovered by the new audit, about 700 involved telephone companies and other communications firms providing information that exceeded what the FBI's national security letters had sought. But rather than destroying the unsolicited data, agents in some instances issued new National Security Letters to ensure that they could keep the mistakenly provided information. Officials cited as an example the retention of an extra month's phone records, beyond the period specified by the agents.Case agents are now told that they must identify mistakenly produced information and isolate it from investigative files. "Human errors will inevitably occur with third parties, but we now have a clear plan with clear lines of responsibility to ensure errant information that is mistakenly produced will be caught as it is produced and before it is added to any FBI database," (FBI General Counsel Valerie) Caproni said.
The FBI should conclude its audit in the next few weeks. That should give Mueller enough time to prepare for his next round of hat-in-hand testimony.
Comments (37)
BaVa wrote on June 14, 2007 9:38 AM:FBI agents don't understand the new NSL rule? Hiding behind incompetence again. Maybe the hiring policy over at the FBI mirrors that at the Justice Department.
MSM wrote on June 14, 2007 9:44 AM:I note that Verizon has a prominent ad right above the top story on the Mothership site.
Mickey wrote on June 14, 2007 9:52 AM:Is TPM selling ad adjacencies?
MSM,
I was wondering more about the BOWFLEX ad below the post. It has the word "revolution" in it. Is Josh perhaps subtly fomenting sedition? We can't be too careful...
Duffy wrote on June 14, 2007 9:52 AM:Question: Is it fascism yet?
College educated guys who don't understand the rules? It's deliberate. It's not a mistake. It just gives them one more excuse to hide behind and violate the constitution.
Answer: Yep, it's fascism.
LOL! And in the security code, you forgot the "e" in potatoe. Good thing I'm not Dan Quayle.
Austin Cooper wrote on June 14, 2007 9:55 AM:Holy cryin' out loud. It's a stunner. I mean -- did we even suspect that the premiere law enforcement agency in *the world* would be involved in -- goh, I dunno... *illegal* acts???
Did anyone for a moment believe anything like *this* could be happening? Who'd-a-thunk-it, you know?
It's... it's just not Inspector Erskine's FBI anymore.
jeffgee wrote on June 14, 2007 9:55 AM:Is this also "at the pleasure of the President?"
bakho wrote on June 14, 2007 10:07 AM:I'll bet there's a Rove connection.
Duh
jack foster wrote on June 14, 2007 10:11 AM:I can remember when the FBI had at least some creditability, even under the dictorial powers of Hoover. Since this administration has been in office, the decline of respect for real law and order has gone down hill like a cheese roll. You wont catch up with it, until you reach the bottom. Hopefully, we'll stop chasing that cheese roll.
Notrol wrote on June 14, 2007 10:15 AM:"But rather than destroying the unsolicited data, agents in some instances issued new National Security Letters to ensure that they could keep the mistakenly provided information."
Well, that part sounds harmless enough. If I violate the law, I'll just issue another piece of paper to cover my ass with a backdate.
Nothing illegal here, move along......
Notrol
aquifinafauxpas wrote on June 14, 2007 10:18 AM:I think I'll just "cc" all my letters and emails directly to the FBI from now on; that way, they won't feel left out. As a matter of fact, I'll call in a conference call to them of all my phone calls, too! That way, they won't have to bother all the shadow stuff...
tbhull wrote on June 14, 2007 10:29 AM:Security Code: salt - like, would you like a little salt on that wound?
All while Congress wastes time on the DOJ investigation that will achieve no results. Our government is currently broken.
Mountain Man wrote on June 14, 2007 10:40 AM:And there's also a Verizon Internet ad above THIS story on the Muckraker site. Coincidence, or an extra fee for TPM?
Mountain Man wrote on June 14, 2007 10:41 AM:And there's also a Verizon Internet ad above THIS story on the Muckraker site. Coincidence, or an extra fee for TPM?
biggerbox wrote on June 14, 2007 10:47 AM:Intuition suggests that any new procedure that requires more work than the the previous one will not be followed if they've had time to get comfortable with the previous one, and there are no real consequences for having used it.
I'm happy they now have a clear plan for how to do what they should have been doing all along, but what's going to make them actually do it?
Richard L. Adlof wrote on June 14, 2007 10:51 AM:What kind o' world do we live in when the jack-booted thugs are breaking the rules . . .
Fascists used to be better at this. Plutocrats used to demand better of their enforcement serviles. Whatever happened to the document every-farging-thing for the edification and glory o' the Reich mentally that was so prevalent a scant sixty or so years ago? One would think that pride in ones work is dead.
Mike Boian wrote on June 14, 2007 10:52 AM:Ultimately this will all come down to the responsibility of our chief law and order officer, Alberto Gonzalez. And we know how far that will get. If these were not such serious matters, these abuses would make even a sane man laugh. Unless something changes radically all we can do is shrug and focus on survival until some new rascals take over.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on June 14, 2007 10:57 AM:What kind o' world do we live in when the jack-booted thugs are breaking the rules . . .
Fascists used to be better at this. Plutocrats used to demand better of their enforcement serviles. Whatever happened to the document every-farging-thing for the edification and glory o' the Reich mentally that was so prevalent a scant sixty or so years ago? One would think that pride in ones work is dead.
shadow wrote on June 14, 2007 10:59 AM:The Watergate burglers were so old school. Instead of breaking in Democratic Headquarters the old-fashioned way, all they had to do was get the FBI to do the work for them.
FBI - now synonymous with "criminal enterprise."
Richard L. Adlof wrote on June 14, 2007 11:01 AM:What kind o' world do we live in when the jack-booted thugs are breaking the rules . . .
Fascists used to be better at this. Plutocrats used to demand better of their enforcement serviles. Whatever happened to the document every-farging-thing for the edification and glory o' the Reich mentally that was so prevalent a scant sixty or so years ago? One would think that pride in ones work is dead.
Legalize wrote on June 14, 2007 11:11 AM:What?! You mean extra-judicial abrogation of the 4th amendment leads to abuse?!! Who could have possibly foreseen such a thing? At what point is the FBI served with a RICO indictment? How is it different than any other interstate criminal enterprise? How is the FBI any different than Tony Soprano?
Code: "brain" - pass; too easy.
Anonymous wrote on June 14, 2007 11:17 AM:What gets me about this is the excuse to utilize the Patriot Act to appoint AG's which was stripped from the act I believe. I'm wondering if there was any NSL's on ACORN members? Or if there was an orchestrated campaign to create NSL's on individuals similar to the Plames where a 'policy dispute' or inconvenient tr was at stake with the politicos at the DOJ? Maybe somebody 'crossed the line?' Imagine factually stating the Niger Docs were a fraud.. as an example and having NSL's created for your internet, phone, banking, construction or renovation, neighbors, dentist, etc., etc., as willing or un-willing investigators (investigators provided an off-shore lead) by a sympathetic koolaid drinker, imagine this goingon for half a decade! Now to state that this could not happen is to miss in entirety the Libby prosecution and the AG scandal in detail. Keep in mind that some of these people did not volunteer to be knowleadgeable in these areas, they were experts in their respective areas but a politico flush with an 80% approval rating post 9-11 couldn't restrain themself from exercising that abuse, and 'crossing the line.'
And finally... Do a random sampling of incarcerated inmates, and conclude on that sampling that the majority are mentally ill or substance abuse victims... sounds appropo, sounds reasonable, (should they be givena pardon?) and then go further down the cell block to the convicted serial killers.. the generalization falls apart.
In closing.. the denial of security clearances for the IG Glen Fine to investigate the surveillance program, and then an issuance of security clearances to those to investigate the leak of surveillance program should remove ANY doubt that NSL's were used as a political axe against loyal Americans.
I wonder how many Valerie Plames are out there with no recourse to substantiating an abusive patern of NSL's were issued and an examination of any actionable data collected to warrant the continuation of the pattern?
Security code: statistics as in damned lies
johnnydoughey wrote on June 14, 2007 11:18 AM:Let's see...
Sparkle Plenty wrote on June 14, 2007 11:25 AM:1. the FBI, who hires a cross section of our society, is illegally using its power, and those individuals abusing said power are exempt from prosecution.
2. The FBI is an equal opportunity employer, meaning it hires a cross section of our communities, including felons (who may or may not have had their cases exonerated), drug users, alcoholics, angry people in the middle of divorces, people who believe in unlimited authority, etc.
Makes me feel safe knowing those are the folks congress is giving unlimited power over my life.
(the last comment is meant to assure myself someone isn't coming to pick me up after posting the rest of the statement... funny, I really don't feel safer...)
I thought ignorance of the law is no excuse.
mroom wrote on June 14, 2007 11:38 AM:.
They claim the 22 cases is a small number but we need to look at percentages. 22 out of a sample of 293 is 7.5% of the sample were illegal uses of NSLs. Thus we can made an educated prediction that of the 19,000 NSL's issued between 2002 and 2006 there were 1425 that were illegal. (7.5% of 19000 is 1425).
Noam Sane wrote on June 14, 2007 11:43 AM:The tone is set at the top. This is of a piece with Enron, Abu Graib, the Justice Dept fiascos, and lots of other stuff. If the President considers himself above the law, if his attitude is "I'll do whatever I damn well please because I know better than you" - it filters down.
victoreador wrote on June 14, 2007 11:55 AM:The Constitution is being debased by the very people who have sworn to uphold it.
Congress has so far proven only its impotence in safeguarding and redressing these treasonous crimes.
The judiciary has issued rulings against these crimes, but they have been ignored by the executive branch.
Our govrnment has become an enemy of the people. True patriots must find other ways to rescue our tottering constitution from the traitors who are destroying it.
So far the judicial branch has been the only beacon of hope. Perhaps class action suits brought on the people's behalf by law-savvy groups like ACLU, Common Cause, etc. could help. I know it's improbable, but this is desperation time. Somebody-anybody have a clue as to what might work?
victoreador wrote on June 14, 2007 11:57 AM:The Constitution is being debased by the very people who have sworn to uphold it.
Congress has so far proven only its impotence in safeguarding and redressing these treasonous crimes.
The judiciary has issued rulings against these crimes, but they have been ignored by the executive branch.
Our govrnment has become an enemy of the people. True patriots must find other ways to rescue our tottering constitution from the traitors who are destroying it.
So far the judicial branch has been the only beacon of hope. Perhaps class action suits brought on the people's behalf by law-savvy groups like ACLU, Common Cause, etc. could help. I know it's improbable, but this is desperation time. Somebody-anybody have a clue as to what might work?
johnnydoughey wrote on June 14, 2007 11:59 AM:If we still live in a democracy 30 years from now, we can refer to this as yet another example of that Stanford research project, in which the student jailers went out of control due to their excessive power.
Of course, actions such as this will pretty much insure that we are NOT a democracy 30 years from now...
victoreador wrote on June 14, 2007 12:02 PM:The Constitution is being debased by the very people who have sworn to uphold it.
Congress has so far proven only its impotence in safeguarding and redressing these treasonous crimes.
The judiciary has issued rulings against these crimes, but they have been ignored by the executive branch.
Our government has become an enemy of the people. True patriots must find other ways to rescue our tottering constitution from the traitors who are destroying it.
So far the judicial branch has been the only beacon of hope. Perhaps class action suits brought on the people's behalf by law-savvy groups like ACLU, Common Cause, etc. could help. I know it's improbable, but this is desperation time. Somebody-anybody have a clue as to what might work?
Deb T wrote on June 14, 2007 12:52 PM:President Gore would restore law and order.
Get smart. Draft Gore.
John of Park wrote on June 14, 2007 12:56 PM:Somehow all of this has made me consider immigrating elsewhere. Is that the new immigration plan Bush keeps talking about?
johnnydoughey wrote on June 14, 2007 1:03 PM:Re: Somebody-anybody have a clue as to what might work?
I think what might work is if we all stop voting for ANY Republican or Democrat this next cycle, and vote for the independents. Will there be problems... probably. Will it destroy the country... not a chance.
Xman wrote on June 14, 2007 1:49 PM:What will occur is that those clowns we elect for a long time to come will look at what happened and make decisions based on what voters want instead of what their their cronies press them to do.
Will some good congresspersons lose their jobs... yes, but I'll bet not one of them will become homeless. The most that will occur is that they will recoup losses through their book deals, and they will give up their platforms to someone else a little early, something they would eventually have to do upon their death anyway.
Of course, what will NOT work, is getting the sheep out here in voting land to actually vote this way. We apparently have a need to vote for the lesser of two evils even after both sides have proven themselves to be equally evil.
My guess is that our christian nation lacks a little of the faith we continue to push upon other folk...
Thinking that people won't let go of what they have until they have something else.
Xman wrote on June 14, 2007 1:50 PM:How did Chairman Mao do it?
Whatever mistakes he made, at least a good portion of the ones he lined up and shot, deserved it.
Thinking that people won't let go of what they have until they have something else.
Jane wrote on June 14, 2007 1:53 PM:How did Chairman Mao do it?
Whatever mistakes he made, at least a good portion of the ones he lined up and shot, deserved it.
Dear jonnydoughey(1:03) PM youa re completley unbaked: the only reason you know about this mess is because the Democrats were in there pushing.
Following your advice in Florida a bunch of greens gave us Bush instead of Gore. No difference there, I'm sure.
An acquaintance once tried to get me to vote for Reagan and failing completely tried to see if he could get me to vote for third party John Anderson. Fortunately, I could count -- taking one vote from the Democratic candidate is equivalent to giving one vote for the Publican.
We are in danger of losing a fair electoral system. I do not think the rot has gone far enough that they can steal the next election against a ground swell of opposition but they did steal 2000. I am pushing any and all candidates of whatever stripe that I believe are committed to fair voting.
If you cannot bring yourself to work for the best alternative because that politician (almost always a Democrat)is not perfect, you could usefully vote in the Republican Party primaries and try to spike the absolute worst alternatives.
piggly wrote on June 14, 2007 5:12 PM:Hmmm.
Should we point out to Congress that they have the power of the purse ?
Simply cut funding to DOJ and FBI !
Oh and by the way this would stop those pesky investigations of the Congress.
Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
Me_again wrote on June 15, 2007 9:17 PM:"enhanced powers given to the FBI to obtain communications or financial data in national security investigations without judicial approval"
WHEN is our Dems congress going to stop blaming everyone, "Gonzales" but not BUSH for what happened in the DOJ? When will Reid stop apologizing? Reid should wear a shirt with the words "kick me Bush, you know I want it" permanently emblazed on his on his back side.
This part where Nancy tells everybody, pleads, begs non-stop that “we will not impeach Bush” but not consider that to be a truly ethical, congress can only clean things up via beginning with impeachment, that starts only with a Bush and Cheney's impeachment.
Dems just can’t do anything except whine more often and beg Bush to trash them repeatedly without one single word in defense. The poll numbers show that Dems are doing nothings.
Libby lied and Dems are nothing be slient on issue, waiting for bloggers to take up the position of why lying is wrong?????
Will why not, the Dem congress barely noticed that Bush was having Gonzales outfit the doj with with Dem hating US attorneys, bent entirely on making sure Repugs got elected - by any means necessary, illegal or otherwise.
Bush declared war on Dems - But Sen. Leahy doesn't really care.
WHY are Dems waiting for the blogs to bail their out collect lazy asses?
Please don't make any excuses for Reid - it he can't bail himself out, maybe he isn't worth it.
We need new leadership, we need REAL leadership - the Dem congress has got to consider their netroots, have got to start listening to their damn, constituency.
Bush sure didn't listen to his votes, and look at the Republican party right now? The GOP is literally HALF the size it was.