Justice Dept.: FBI Misused Patriot Act
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer
03/09/07 "AP"
--- --
WASHINGTON -- The FBI improperly and, in some cases, illegally
used the USA Patriot Act to secretly obtain personal information
about people in the United States, a Justice Department audit
concluded Friday.
And for three years the FBI has underreported to Congress how
often it forced businesses to turn over the customer data, the
audit found.
FBI agents sometimes demanded the data without proper
authorization, according to the 126-page audit by Justice
Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine. At other times, the
audit found, the FBI improperly obtained telephone records in
non-emergency circumstances.
The audit blames agent error and shoddy record-keeping for the
bulk of the problems and did not find any indication of criminal
misconduct.
Still, "we believe the improper or illegal uses we found involve
serious misuses of national security letter authorities," the
audit concludes.
At issue are the security letters, a power outlined in the
Patriot Act that the Bush administration pushed through Congress
after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The letters, or
administrative subpoenas, are used in suspected terrorism and
espionage cases. They allow the FBI to require telephone
companies, Internet service providers, banks, credit bureaus and
other businesses to produce highly personal records about their
customers or subscribers -- without a judge's approval.
About three-fourths of the national security letters were issued
for counterterror cases, and the other fourth for spy
investigations.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller called Fine's audit "a fair and
objective review of the FBI's use of a proven and useful
investigative tool."
The finding "of deficiencies in our processes is unacceptable,"
Mueller said in a statement.
"We strive to exercise our authorities consistent with the
privacy protections and civil liberties that we are sworn to
uphold," Mueller said. "Anything less will not be tolerated.
While we've already taken some steps to address these
shortcomings, I am ordering additional corrective measures to be
taken immediately."
Fine's annual review is required by Congress, over the
objections of the Bush administration.
The audit released Friday found that the number of national
security letters issued by the FBI skyrocketed in the years
after the Patriot Act became law.
In 2000, for example, the FBI issued an estimated 8,500 letters.
By 2003, however, that number jumped to 39,000. It rose again
the next year, to about 56,000 letters in 2004, and dropped to
approximately 47,000 in 2005.
Over the entire three-year period, the audit found the FBI
issued 143,074 national security letters requesting customer
data from businesses.
The FBI vastly underreported the numbers. In 2005, the FBI told
Congress that its agents in 2003 and 2004 had delivered only
9,254 national security letters seeking e-mail, telephone or
financial information on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents
over the previous two years.
Additionally, the audit found, the FBI identified 26 possible
violations in its use of the national security letters,
including failing to get proper authorization, making improper
requests under the law and unauthorized collection of telephone
or Internet e-mail records.
Of the violations, 22 were caused by FBI errors, while the other
four were the result of mistakes made by the firms that received
the letters.
The FBI also used so-called "exigent letters," signed by
officials at FBI headquarters who were not authorized to sign
national security letters, to obtain information. In at least
700 cases, these exigent letters were sent to three telephone
companies to get toll billing records and subscriber
information.
"In many cases, there was no pending investigation associated
with the request at the time the exigent letters were sent," the
audit concluded.
The letters inaccurately said the FBI had requested subpoenas
for the information requested -- "when, in fact, it had not,"
the audit found.
Senators outraged over the conclusions signaled they would
provide tougher oversight of the FBI -- and perhaps limit its
power.
"The report indicates abuse of the authority" Congress gave the
FBI, said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
"You cannot have people act as free agents on something where
they're going to be delving into your privacy."
The committee's top Republican, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter,
said the FBI appears to have "badly misused national security
letters." The senator said, "This is, regrettably, part of an
ongoing process where the federal authorities are not really
sensitive to privacy and go far beyond what we have authorized."
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., another member on the panel that
oversees the FBI, said the report "proves that 'trust us'
doesn't cut it."
Justice spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales "commends the work of the inspector general in
uncovering serious problems in the FBI's use of NSLs."
The American Civil Liberties Union said the audit proves
Congress must amend the Patriot Act to require judicial approval
anytime the FBI wants access to sensitive personal information.
"The Attorney General and the FBI are part of the problem and
they cannot be trusted to be part of the solution," said Anthony
D. Romero, the ACLU's executive director.Click here
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