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FBI Internal Audit Finds Extensive Breach of Intelligence Gathering Rules
An internal audit of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has found that the FBI violated intelligence gathering rules thousands of times since 2002. The breach involved the collection of data about domestic phone calls, emails and financial transactions.
The audit was based on a 10% sampling of records since 2002 and the findings were extrapolated to the entire operation of the FBI. The findings severely contradict an earlier finding that was presented to Congress that concluded that there were only 22 breaches, based on a smaller sampling. The information in question was both requested and non-requested information by FBI agents. In some instances, phone companies and Internet providers provided information to the FBI without being requested or authorized and the agents kept the information on file. In other instances, agents requested the documents. The report found many instances where both types of information were in the possession of the agents in breach of the rules. The rules allow collection of private information for intelligence reasons but also protect against unwarranted invasion of privacy.
FBI officials believe the breach is the result of agents and supervisors not understanding or failing to follow the legal requirements of the National Security Letters (NSL). The NSL is a powerful intelligence-gathering tool passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
National Security Letters are issued by the FBI demanding information, mostly from telecommunication companies, relevant to investigations to protect against international terrorism and clandestine intelligence activities. The letters are typically issued secretly without prior review by the courts.
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