Slashdot Mirror
FBI Wants To Limit Document Searches
An anonymous reader writes "In what seems to be in opposition to the Freedom of Information Act, the FBI is seeking to limit document searches. It seems since now that a lot of documents are in electronic form, searching them is much easier than before, and for that reason the FBI is taking this action."
The beuraucratic culture at FBI headquarters and regional
offices are to blame for this and many other woes. I know
a retired field agent that was in counter-intel and he has
nothing good to say about agency management.
I don't think this is so much an overt effort to hide any
one particular document(s) but just a widely prevalent
'we don't give a damn what you want'. Laziness and CYA
mentality are to blame.
But kneejerk slashdot sensationalism as usual.
And, the statement "It seems since now that a lot of documents are in electronic form, searching them is much easier than before, and for that reason the FBI is taking this action," is the diametric opposite of what is actually happening.
The story is that an individual made an FOIA request to the FBI for some specific information.
The FBI claimed that no such information was available.
The claimant found out in the meantime that such information WAS available, and, as such, requested a court order the FBI to provide it.
The FBI is arguing that its search was reasonable within department regulations and guidelines, and that it cannot and should not be expected to always undercover every single possible document. It's precisely BECAUSE documents are indexed electronically that is creating the difficulty: the FBI is claiming, essentially, that it can't predict every possibly keyword it should associate with a document for search purposes, and therefore shouldn't be held accountable if it misses documents during a good-faith search.
Whether or not the FBI was intentionally hiding OKBOMB memos, etc., is another story altogether.
While they may be intentionally stunting their software search capabilities, it seems less likely that this is some malicious attempt on our freedoms and very likely that it's pure laziness on their part. The government has never been too happy about having to handle FOIA requests because they take time and money. When someone comes along and makes one, it's often easier for them to fight it than to use the resources required to dig up the info.
h tm
As one who works for the federal government, the word came down from the Department of Justice a while back that agencies would be supported if they decided to resist FOIA requests. Here's a link to the most public declaration of this policy:
http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foiapost/2001foiapost19.
Also, FOIA requests are NOT free to the requestor --- the agency is allowed to bill for its time and reproduction costs.
You mean Ben Franklin... Check the facts
is the one I think it is (and it may not be), the FBI has good reason to hide its records of that death.
The inmate was beaten to death by two guards. The BOP refused access to the site by the Oklahoma City coroner who got a court order and went in anyway. Using blood detection instruments that illuminate blood stains, the word was the "cell lit up like a Christmas tree." The FBI was called in, then proceeded to cover up the case by removing the bloodstained prison clothes and throwing them in the trunk of an agent's car, who proceeded to drive around with them for a month until he had to complain to his supervisor that the clothes were "stinking up his car". The DOJ called the Oklahoma state Attorney General and threatened to cut off law enforcement funding unless the case was dropped. The family pursued the case which eventually wound up on federal court. There, the judge decided that despite the FACTS that the BOP lied about the circumstances and the FBI mis-handled the evidence, the inmate "committed suicide".
Yeah, right...US "justice" prevails...
This is not the first time the FBI has covered up instances of BOP abuse of prisoners as a favor to a fellow federal law enforcement agency. There as a prison riot in a midwest Penitentiary in October 1995 which entailed numerous instances of brutalization of inmates by corrections officers. The FBI came in and seized vidotapes of the incidents which had been made by the officers (the BOP mandates videotaping incidents so they can be used to defend officers when accused of brutality). When the FBI "crime lab" got through with those tapes, the quality was sufficiently bad they could not be used as evidence in the inmates' federal complaint against the officers. The inmates' legal team recommended settling. The officers walked.
Anything who thinks the FBI operates like Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (if you're old enough to remember that show) or Scully and Mulder (for you younger nerds) hasn't got a clue.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
I guess that they don't wany anyone archiving their site, but it is just part of a much larger picture, Just check out the Whitehouse robots.txt file.
Pretty much anything that mentions iraq is Disallowed
In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet, and say to us, "Make us your slaves, but feed us." - Dostoevsky