Does the FBI really abuse the power given to them in obtaining personal
information for an investigation to possible terriorism or terroristic
behaviours?

Congress Probes FBI Abuse of Power in Gaining Personal Data

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington
20 April 2007


U.S. legislators on Tuesday heard first hand the findings of an internal
government report, which revealed that the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, or FBI, abused its powers in obtaining personal
information during investigations of suspected terrorists. VOA's Peter
Fedynsky reports an FBI official acknowledged the revelations have
damaged the agency's credibility.

Nearly 80 minutes into the hearing, Judiciary Committee Chairman John
Conyers banged the gavel to restore order after a member of the audience
briefly disrupted the proceedings.

The comment "We don't trust the FBI!" underscored what the FBI's General
Counsel, Valerie Caproni, told the committee earlier in the hearing -
that the bureau needs American public support to fight terrorism,
particularly in neighborhoods susceptible to radical influence. "We need
people in those communities to call us when they hear or see something
that looks amiss. We know that we reduce the probability of that call
immeasurably, if we lose the confidence of any part of the American
public," she said.

That trust, however, has been eroded amid revelations that the FBI may
have misused so-called National Security Letters to obtain private
information about people, without getting prior approval from a judge or
a grand jury.

Controls over how the letters are used was loosened under the so-called
Patriot Act, a controversial law passed by Congress to hunt for
terrorists in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the
United States.

In his testimony, Inspector General Glenn Fine told the House Judiciary
Committee that the FBI dramatically increased the number of National
Security letters in violation of statues, and policies established by
the bureau and the U.S. Attorney General. But Fine said the FBI did not
intentionally violate the law. "We believe the misuses and problems that
we found generally were the problem of mistakes, carelessness,
confusion, sloppiness, lack of training, lack of adequate guidance and
lack of adequate oversight," he said.

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, however, noted that the FBI
was aware of the abuses as early as 2004. The Inspector General conceded
that his investigation did not inquire about the actions of individuals.
He said it would be appropriate for the FBI to learn exactly who was
doing what, when and why, and to hold people accountable for any
violations.

Committee member Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat and critic of the
Patriot Act, said the FBI abuses could be attributed to the law itself.
"It is not enough to mandate that the FBI fix internal management
problems and record-keeping, because the statute itself authorizes the
unchecked collection of information on innocent Americans," he said.

But Republican Lamar Smith of Texas said the problem is due to poor
implementation. "It is clear from the report that these deficiencies are
the result of the poor implementation and administration of national
security letter authority. In other words, the problem is enforcement of
the law, not the law itself," he said.


Members of the Judiciary Committee warned the FBI that it could lose its
expanded surveillance authority, if the bureau fails to correct its
mistakes.

Oh. Hell. Yes. They do. That much is certainly true. The Patriot Act
was intended (if not by the designers, then by those who voted it into
law) to be a fine-edged tool. A laser to give the justice system power
to act with precision. The FBI has been using it like a freakin' weapon
of mass destruction. It's abuse, without a doubt.


But, that's why the judicial branch is seperate from the executive and
the legislative. To prevent these kinds of events. Or to rapidly crush
them when they do occur. Thus far, it's doing a pretty good job. Better
than any other nation on earth, at least.