“Paul is wrong to say the FBI “was designed to spy on Americans”. That conspiratorial idea is not compatible with the history of the development out of the Justice Department that became the FBI”
Yes, it is. It’s very name tells its history: Investigation. It was formed by executive order to be the investigative arm of the DOJ. The FBI is not the DOJ, it is the investigative part of it.
An “investigation” body for the DOJ is not intrinsically an intention to “spy” (warrantless collection of personal data with no purpose than warrantless collection of personal data). To claim it was intrinsically (by design) intended to “spy” on people, is no different than sayin all state and local police investigatory outfits are “by design” intended to “spy” on Americans. Yet, there is no such basis for saying all U.S. policing authority for “investigations” is “intended” to “spy” on us.