(2007) Justice Department Audit Reveals FBI Misused Patriot Act

PBS ^ | Mar 9, 2007

[Ray76]

RAY SUAREZ: FBI Director Robert Mueller’s news conference followed this morning’s release of a Justice Department audit revealing the bureau’s abuse of the USA Patriot Act.

ROBERT MUELLER, FBI Director: I’m particularly concerned about the findings in the report that indicate that we did not have appropriate policies in place. And in other areas where we did have appropriate policies, we did not adhere to them in using this important tool.

RAY SUAREZ: The tool at issue is the national security letter. It’s been used for more than three decades by the FBI to obtain sensitive information about businesses and individuals.

Approved by Congress after the 9/11 attacks, the USA Patriot Act extended the bureau’s access to telephone, e-mail, library and financial records in suspected terrorism investigations without court approval. More than 150,000 national security letters have been issued over the last three years, compared with just 8,000 the year before 9/11.

[]

RAY SUAREZ: The inspector general’s 126-page audit found: the FBI underreported to Congress the number of national security letters issued over the past three years by some 20 percent; the bureau failed to accurately report misuse of its authority and failed to properly destroy any unauthorized information collected; and the FBI improperly obtained telephone records using a tactic called “exigent letters,” claiming an emergency in non-emergency situations.

[Ray76]

NSLs are secret demand letters issued without court approval or independent oversight to financial institutions, telecommunications and Internet service providers and credit agencies to obtain sensitive personal information such as financial records, credit reports, the phone numbers and email addresses with which a person has communicated, and possibly the websites a person visited. The Patriot Act did not create NSLs, but before the act, only senior FBI officials could authorize their use, and the law required the FBI to certify that there were “specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe” the target of the NSL was an “agent of a foreign power.”

[ ]

The IG audits also confirmed that 40,000-50,000 NSLs were issued every year during the mid-2000s, and in 2006 a majority of them were directed against people in the U.S. This sort of broad, suspicionless collection of private data about innocent Americans is the logical result of destroying the requirement of a factual nexus between an NSL and terrorist activity.

[ ]

With no internal controls and with complete disregard for the law, FBI agents soon ignored the minimal process involved in issuing NSLs and instead issued “exigent letters,” falsely claiming emergencies to obtain records without legal process. These illegal requests—sometimes just a phone number written on a Post-it note—were often given to the telecommunications companies with the promise that an NSL or grand jury subpoena would follow, but more often than not these promises went unfulfilled. Some agents found even Post-it notes too burdensome and instead asked company employees to just pull up a person’s phone records so they could peek over their shoulder to see whether a formal request such as an NSL was worthwhile.

There are also demonstrated problems with how the FBI handles data it receives in response to an NSL. Rather than using NSLs as an investigative tool, as Congress clearly intended by only allowing them to be used when the information sought was relevant to an ongoing investigation, the FBI was using NSLs for mass data collection.

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/national_security_letters_building_blocks_for_investigations_or_intrusive_t/

[Ray76]

Mueller was FBI Director September 4, 2001 - September 4, 2013.

[Carl Vehse]

AG Sessions will be getting Mueller and other FBI criminals indicted........................................................... any day now.

[Delta 21]

And NOW Meuller is Super Duper Special Investigator. Investigating himself and his actions, I wonder if a subpoena is in the works?

[DrDude]

Just issue one of these letters. Maybe Sessions can send a strongly worded letter at the same time to save postage!

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

(from the article): " Rather than using NSLs as an investigative tool,
as Congress clearly intended by only allowing them to be used when the information sought was relevant to an ongoing investigation,
the FBI was using NSLs for mass data collection."

NSLs used not as investigation tool ,
but rather used for "fishing expedition".

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Ping

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

[Ray76]

Mueller’s FBI ignored law.

Now Mueller is reportedly investigating tax returns and real estate transactions from a decade ago, which has nothing to do with 2016 elections.

Then as now Mueller is unconstrained by rules.

[Whenifhow]

PING!!!

(2007) Justice Department Audit Reveals FBI Misused Patriot Act

Article and comments, esp #1 among others

Thanks, Ray76 & H/T Tilted Irish Kilt

[Ray76]

> NSLs used not as investigation tool ,
but rather used for “fishing expedition”.

That’s it exactly.

Mueller has a record of fishing expeditions.

Thanks

[bgill]

Mueller’s FBI ignored law.

Mueller ignored warnings on 9/11, Ft. Hood, Boston Bombing, San Bernardino, etc. He's the king snake in the grass.

[mistfree]

The to convene a grand jury?

[mistfree]

Make that “TIME” to convene a grand jury?

[GOPJ]

With no internal controls and with complete disregard for the law, FBI agents soon ignored the minimal process involved in issuing NSLs and instead issued “exigent letters,” falsely claiming emergencies to obtain records without legal process. These illegal requests—sometimes just a phone number written on a Post-it note—were often given to the telecommunications companies with the promise that an NSL or grand jury subpoena would follow, but more often than not these promises went unfulfilled. Some agents found even Post-it notes too burdensome and instead asked company employees to just pull up a person’s phone records so they could peek over their shoulder to see whether a formal request such as an NSL was worthwhile.

Sessions needs to haul the 'deep state' into a Court of Law...

[shanover]

Everything the American government did in response to 9/11 has failed miserably with a few military exceptions. What a freaking waste of blood,treasure and Constitutional rights as this government turned rogue as a tyrannical statist hellhole. Meanwhile Islamic expansion in the West and Caliphate (one of the original intents of Bin Laden)is as strong as ever.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Listened to George Webb and Jason Goodman livvestream from the Columbus Airport bit ago,...Prosecutor in Zaneswville is dropping the case against George.

AND this article from a website That may be questionable:<

AWANGATE: A CIA Black Operation That Used Pakistan’s ISI To Do The Dirty Work While MOSSAD’s Inside Woman Directs

Posted on August 3, 2017 by State of the Nation

Has not been posted on the Forum,...kind of nasty with them wanting to sign you for stuff and downloads.

It got some discussion from them.

[Whenifhow]

Listened to George Webb and Jason Goodman livvestream from the Columbus Airport bit ago,...Prosecutor in Zaneswville is dropping the case against George.
AND this article from a website That may be questionable:<

See this post for the rest

https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3575449/posts?page=17#17

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Let me post a link to the Youtube for others to hear the conversation I heard from the Columbus Airport:

Live From John Glenn Airport

It is about 30 minutes

Toward the end Trish mentions Mueller in Iceland pressuring their Prime Minister.

[Whenifhow]

Here is the other article that Jason, Trish and George discuss.

Is Wikileaks Telling us Robert Mueller is Black Ops?
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3575433/posts