Congress Threatens FBI: Shape Up Now or Lose “Patriot” Act Powers
Republicans and Democrats sternly warned the FBI on Tuesday that it could lose its broad power to collect telephone, e-mail and financial records, after revelations of widespread abuses of the authority detailed in a recent internal investigation. Republicans and Democrats were reacting to an inspector general’s report that the FBI paid only lip service to Bill of Rights concerns regarding so-called “National Security Letters” that let them set up wire-taps, and surveillance measures for “thousands of U.S. citizens” all without court order or review.
Their threats came as the Justice Department’s chief watchdog, Glenn A. Fine, told the House Judiciary Commitee that the FBI engaged in widespread and serious misuse of its authority in illegally collecting the information from Americans and foreigners through so-called national security letters.
“If the FBI doesn’t move swiftly to correct the mistakes and problems revealed last week in Fine’s 130-page report, “you probably won’t have NSL authority,” said Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., a supporter of the power, referring to the data requests by their initials.
Democrats were presumably less tolerent! Click here to read this story.