Exclusive: Report Says FBI Violated Patriot Act Guidelines

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/

Exclusive: Report Says FBI Violated Patriot Act Guidelines

March 08, 2007 8:26 PM

Brian Ross and Vic Walter Report:

The FBI repeatedly failed to follow the strict guidelines of the Patriot Act when its agents took advantage of a new provision allowing the FBI to obtain phone and financial records without a court order, according to a report to be made public Friday by the Justice Department's Inspector General.

The report, in classified and unclassified versions, remains closely held, but Washington officials who have seen it tell ABC News it documents "numerous lapses" and describe it as "scathing" and "not a pretty picture for the FBI."

FBI Director Robert Mueller is scheduled to brief Congress on the report at noon.

The officials say the inspector general found the FBI underreported by at least 20 percent the use of the controversial provision, known as National Security Letters, NSLs, in required disclosures to Congress.

The Patriot Act gave FBI agents the ability to demand telephone, bank, credit card and library records by issuing an administrative letter, bypassing the need to seek a warrant from a federal judge.

Civil liberties groups have long opposed the provision, saying the lack of oversight could lead to the kinds of problems apparently uncovered by the inspector general.

more...

And...

http://thinkprogress.org/

UPDATE: Tomorrow, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will “deliver keynote remarks before the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/03-08-2007/0004542909&EDATE=

and I'm already smelling a nasty odor from the trash waiting to be taken out.

Talk about a news dump!

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman loves to remind visitors of Sin City's oh-so-discreet tagline: "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." But since the New Year's celebrations ringing in 2004, he has had to modify the motto. Fearing a terrorist attack, the FBI descended on casinos, car rental agencies, storage warehouses, and other Las Vegas businesses with sheaves of "national security letters" demanding financial records covering about 1 million revelers. Startled business owners who questioned the action were told they had one choice: cough up their documents or wind up in court.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2005/nf20051110_9709_db016.htm

Give a rat a cookie, and he will only want a keystroke data logger.