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FBI Violated Electronic Communications Privacy Act
An anonymous reader writes to tell us of a report from the Washington Post which alleges that the FBI "illegally collected more than 2,000 US telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records." The report continues,
"E-mails obtained by The Washington Post detail how counterterrorism officials inside FBI headquarters did not follow their own procedures that were put in place to protect civil liberties. The stream of urgent requests for phone records also overwhelmed the FBI communications analysis unit with work that ultimately was not connected to imminent threats. ... FBI officials told The Post that their own review has found that about half of the 4,400 toll records collected in emergency situations or with after-the-fact approvals were done in technical violation of the law. The searches involved only records of calls and not the content of the calls. In some cases, agents broadened their searches to gather numbers two and three degrees of separation from the original request, documents show."
If it helps reduce the threat of terrorism and none of those involved with making or receiving the phone calls were inconvenienced or were persecuted on other charges that were discovered outside the original reasons for looking at the records than what is the difference? Perhaps they had a lead on a terrorist act that lead them down the path of needing some additional records. If it had discovered a plot to blow up some major building and those involved were arrested the FBI would probably have been hailed as heroes and given medals. I'm not suggesting the government have total power to do anything they want, but how can we stand by and complain that terrorism is on the rise when a fit is thrown every time some phone records are looked at due to some technicalities? We should stop wasting resources on investigating our own agencies for things that did not have any affect on anyone. Maybe we could get out of debt and put the economy on track...
We've got a lot of people here in the US right now that are running after not only RED herrings, but blue, pink, orange and red pokadotted herrings as well.
...proving that an ill-informed electorate is the most effective tool with which to attack our system of law and government. Part of me wants to blame Fox News et al, but another, darker and deeply cynical side of me wants to say, "There is no fucking hope when 'movements' like the 'birthers', tea-baggers, etc. have gained any significant traction at all, instead of being laughed right out of every single mainstream media outlet."
you'd be in league with a lot of crazies
Typical partisan answer. If you disagree with me then you must be crazy/uneducated/misinformed.
As I recall, there's something about interstate commerce, or even better, "promot[ing] the general Welfare" of the people.
So the interstate commerce clause now extends to a lack of commerce? I hope you realize that the logical conclusion of that argument is the Federal Government arresting cancer patients for smoking weed......
And in any case, there are huge subsidies.
Irrelevant.
Oh--and if you get sick or get hit by an uninsured motorist and go to the ER and you can't pay, well, it's the taxpayers subsidizing that bill for you, so the taxpayers are now saying that you ought to have insurance.
Then end the unfunded mandate that hospitals treat people regardless of their ability to pay. You don't get to impose one mandate and then use it as a rationalization for another one.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Hwen you defend paranoid morons, it is hard to believe you are capable of enlightenment.