FBI Abuses of Patriot Act Revealed
Posted by Steve Chung
The Washington Post reports that records turned over as a part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit indicate that the FBI has investigated hundreds of potential violations that are connected to its use of secret surveillance operations. In several of these cases, the responsible agents failed to follow Justice Department guidelines and file updates on the ongoing surveillance. In other cases, improper physical searches were conducted, bank privacy statutes were clearly violated and emails were collected after a search warrant had expired. The New York Times is also reporting the story.
These records emerge as the House and Senate wrestle over whether to place new restrictions on the Patriot Act, which gives the government more freedom to conduct secret searches and surveillance. While many believe this is only the tip of the iceberg of potential violations, the FBI contends that most of the violations amount to nothing more than administrative errors.