FBI Illegally Used Patriot Act, Audit Says

Justice Department Report Claims Bureau Improperly Used Terror Bill To Obtain Private Information

(CBS/AP)  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 underreported to Congress how often it forced businesses to turn over the customer data, the audit found.

FBI Director Robert Mueller said he was to blame for not putting more safeguards into place.

"I am to be held accountable," Mueller said. He told reporters he would correct the problems and did not plan to resign.

"The inspector general went and did the audit that I should have put in place many years ago," Mueller said.

The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found that FBI agents sometimes demanded personal data on individuals without proper authorization. The 126-page audit also found the FBI improperly obtained telephone records in non-emergency circumstances.

---

Dept. Of Justice Report On FBI Business Records

---

The audit blames agent error and shoddy recordkeeping for the bulk of the problems; it 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.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who oversees the FBI, said the problems outlined in the report involved no intentional wrongdoing. In remarks prepared for delivery to privacy officials late Friday, Gonzales said: "In many cases, we're talking about people taking shortcuts, people being sloppy, people not knowing what was required of them; insufficient oversight, quite frankly."

He added, "There is no excuse for the mistakes that have been made, and we are going to make things right as quickly as possible."

The White House says President Bush still believes the Patriot Act is a "critical and effective tool" in the war on terror despite the report, reports CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer. Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino said Mr. Bush "expressed significant concern over the seriousness of the issues" but that the president "was relieved to learn the Inspector General found no instances of intentional misconduct."

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.

The FBI has sent tens of thousands of such letters, reports CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras.

Librarian George Christian received one. "To receive a request like this — to help spy on someone and then remain silent about it forever — it was chilling," he said.

Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the government, in general, needs to return to information gathering methods used prior to the Patriot Act.

The FBI must "limit these very powerful tools to situations in which the government is actually tracking suspected terrorists or spies," Cohn told CBS News Radio.

[pakaal]

...and the finger-pointing continues.

[nvme3]

The use of NSL's should not be taken lightly in light of the fact it is not reviewed by a court. Fishing expeditions into an individual's personal life is not acceptable. The framers of the constitution put in checks and balances to insure that no one would be denied life or liberty without judicial review. The agents who abuse our right should be sanctioned in order to prevent undue intrusions.

[tuckerndfw]

From the story:

"the report . . . concluded that the problems appeared to be unintentional and that FBI agents would probably face administrative sanctions instead of an indictment."

Why are goverment agents exempt from prosecution? Under the Constitution, no one is exempt from the law, including the president.

Oh, that's right, the GOP exempted themselves from the law. I forgot they anointed George Bush as their King George.

Never mind. . .

[mikebeat1]

...and the finger-pointing continues.
Posted by pakaal at 01:00 AM : Mar 09, 2007
THE FINGER POINTING CONTINUES??? You've got to be kidding me. It wasn't that long ago that the Republican Congress virtually shut down the government with a witch hunt over whether or not Clinton "lied" about his affair with Ms. Lewinsky. A 50 million dollar investigation into "whitewater" (which was mentioned ONCE in the report) all came down to lying about an affair. The religious right's favorite son. Newt Gingrich appears in the news today for admitting that he had an affair at that time too. But, he didn't lie about it. The only reason he didn't lie is because NO ONE ASKED HIM. Now, we have an administration that repeatedly lies about national security matters, leaks classified information for revenge, and invades our lives with re-interpretations of the constitution whenever it suits them. And you can reduce this entire arguement down to "...and the finger pointing continues. baaaaa baaaa (that's a sheep)

[searingtruth]

Mirror

My friends, sometimes the most difficult thing about fighting evil is realizing that it actually exists, and then unambiguously and forcefully calling it what it is.

History shows time and time again that one of evils greatest strengths is its ability to disguise itself as good, or at least a temporary necessity, until that last fatal moment when its revelation becomes clear, indisputable, and inescapable.

So today let us take a clear and unadulterated look into the mirror at ourselves.

Just six years ago we were one of the most respected and admired defenders of democracy and human rights in history. Respected not only by our friends, but even begrudgingly by most of our enemies. In fact, even the fantastic power of our military paled in comparison to the overwhelming might of our moral authority.

Today we are a nation that operates secret prisons occupied by anonymous inmates, illegally abducted and held indefinitely without charge or representation. We are guilty of torture. We are guilty of murder. We are guilty of preemptive war of conquest. We are guilty of the wholesale surveillance of our population, suppressing all hope of privacy and free dissent. And we are guilty of disgracing our nation through the abandonment of even our most basic precepts of morality.

If this is not evil, then nothing we have ever fought against is evil, and nothing we have ever fought for is good.
...

Excerpt from a Future of the Brave
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[mikebeat1]

ummmm....SearingTruth
Way to rain on the best post I've made in my whole life. And thanks.

[tuckerndfw]

"...and the finger pointing continues. baaaaa baaaa (that's a sheep)

Posted by mikebeat1 at 02:22 AM : Mar 09, 2007


*ROFL*

At this point, the only supporters Bush has left are those whose brain does not function as intended, i.e., "brain dead."

Sheep are smarter than a Bush supporter.

Even those who have become extraordinarily wealthy or even more extraordinarily wealthy are abandoning him before the indictments begin when his house of cards collapses.

[searingtruth]

"ummmm....SearingTruth
Way to rain on the best post I've made in my whole life. And thanks."
mikebeat1

Fellow patriot mikebeat1,
Your post eloquently and factually enhanced the spirit and truth of our country, and my subsequent post.

Thank you.
ST

"We should never despair, our Situation before has been unpromising and has changed for the better, so I trust, it will again. If new difficulties arise, we must only put forth new Exertions and proportion our Efforts to the exigency of the times."
George Washington, letter to Philip Schuyler, July 15, 1777

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[randalds]

Now the Bush Justice department is going after the FBI. After the Iraq war was shown to be based on lies Bush lied more and pointed the finger of blame at the CIA and said they gave him faulty intelligence when in fact they gave him correct intelligence and he and his minions cherry picked what they wanted out of it, ignored the rest and made up complete bullsh*it to fill in with. They made the mistake of pis*sing off long time CIA agents and suddenly the leaks started pouring out of that agency. Now the moron is about to make the same mistake with the FBI. These agencies are staffed with agents whop serve 20 or 30 years and just tolerate politically appointed heads. Bush would do well not to pi*ss any of them off too much as they will bite him in the as*s in the end. Then again he really is ignorant enough to do it and frankly they're the only people is the US today who really have the power to take this as*shole down...or out. I hope they do it.

[searingtruth]

"Terror is not a guiding light."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[searingtruth]

"Now the Bush Justice department is going after the FBI. ..."
RandalDS

Fellow patriot, George Washington has a few things in common with you -

"I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love."
George Washington, First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789

"Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment."
George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

"The value of liberty was thus enhanced in our estimation by the difficulty of its attainment, and the worth of characters appreciated by the trial of adversity."
George Washington, letter to the people of South Carolina, Circa 1790

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[randalds]

Posted by SearingTruth at 03:01 AM : Mar 09, 2007

Thank you. Even though neocons don't believe it's possible I'm a hard core liberal and I love my country at the same time. Not in the ignorant "Love it or leave it" sense that they do, but in a very real way. That said Bush is making a huge mistake taking on the bureaucracy of the American intelligence agencies. Most of the long time civil servants and agents of these agencies are very dedicated men and women who've seen administrations come and go. Most of them love this country very much to or they wouldn't be doing the difficult job that they are. Then to have this little ignorant phony Texan pip-squeak come along and lie about them. To say to the world they gave him bad intel when they know they didn't, well they're not going to take that. Bush fu*cked up because he forgot one basic truth about the US government, it's not run by elected people. Not the president or Senators or Congress. It's run by the long time employees who come to work day after day and year after year doing their jobs the best the can because most of them believe in what this country stands for. Pi*ss them off at you own peril and that's what Bush has done. They'll take him down or out, soon I hope.

[searingtruth]

"Thank you. Even though neocons don't believe it's possible I'm a hard core liberal and I love my country at the same time. ..."
RandalDS

Fellow patriot, the majority of citizens in this country, on both sides and in the middle and in all parts in between, still believe in and cherish our Constitution. George Bush and Richard Cheney will be impeached, their henchmen tried, and the rule of law will be restored to this land.
ST

"Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness."
George Washington, Circular to the States, May 9, 1753

"A fondness for power is implanted, in most men, and it is natural to abuse it, when acquired."
Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, February 23, 1775

"Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants."
Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 1, October 27, 1787

"But the mild voice of reason, pleading the cause of an enlarged and permanent interest, is but too often drowned, before public bodies as well as individuals, by the clamors of an impatient avidity for immediate and immoderate gain."
James Madison, Federalist No. 42, January 22, 1788

"I do not reveal the unknown, only the forgotten."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[safari07]

Hi,
Attorney General Gonzales, should be asshamed of himself to think that the people of the world and US would fall for his explanation of the "Domestic Spying Program". Remember how the US Government yelled when the USSR was communist controled and now we have a government in the USA that is communistic. I hope Congress sides with the people of this country and disbans that program.

[zootallures2]

When gossiping, spying, spreading rumors, and finding dirt on one another is one of the most favorite hobbies of the citizens, why would you expect the government to be different? Maybe when you quit, the government will quit. Untill then, maybe you deserve it! Oh, and have a nice day...lol!

[formrusmcsgt]

Fine conducted the audit as required by Congress and over the objections of the Bush administration.

Gee, how surprising is that? Next thing you know, they'll want to hold secret hearings in Guantanamo barring the press and even representation for the accused....

[antoniof123]

This is not finger-pointing this is an attack on liberty. What fool can ever think I will give up my freedoms for a short time. Once it is gone it is gone. This is by far the worst administration in the history of the US.

[macusweil]

What a surprise Bush government abuses its powers.

To begin with it was typical GOP double speak naming of the bill. Gee let's see who voted against the Patriot Act, they must not be a patriot, give me a break!!

This abuse report is why we should not have even had a "Patriot Act." It always a very bad idea to give up our freedoms for safety , if our founding father's believed this there would be no USA. Freedom when lost is so hard to ever restore.

We won two world wars and the cold war w/o the patriot act. So far we've managed to poorly execute the war on terror even with the law. Yes there were not attacks but we had plenty of years of calm during Clinton presidency as well.

Bottom line who's to say they did not abuse the law to provide evidence for political retribution? With 20% of the cases are undocumented, those could easily be cases where they spied on war protesters, members of the DNC, anyone in the way of the neo.con political machine.

[macusweil]

Bush strategy for abusing power is working so nicely!! Break one or two laws the whole world will focus on it and come down on you then you're screwed. Example in point- Nixon & Clinton.

But by simply disregarding as many laws an they possibly can it becomes harder and harder for those who must uphold accountability to even find a place to start.

[formrusmcsgt]

But by simply disregarding as many laws an they possibly can it becomes harder and harder for those who must uphold accountability to even find a place to start.
Posted by macusweil at 08:24 AM : Mar 09, 2007

If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, stupify them with BS.....

[panhandlpete]

So the Congress asked for an "audit", and got it, over the objection of this White House. The dirty linens can now be hung out for display....

The last hope for this country is for SOME of the Judges, presently on the bench, to try to turn this wagon around and head back to our blessed days of freedom. Otherwise, we will see a police state worse than Nazi Germany, and in the very near future. We have LOST far more than what 9/ll did to us, or the cost of young lives and treasury in this DECEITFUL war. Our American dream is but a story for books. The American way-of-life is "vanishing right before our eyes", and there seems to be nothing done to stop it.

[macusweil]

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, stupify them with BS...." .. and keen spelling ;)

Let's see, Libby lied under oath about national security issues, Rumsfeld lied about troop strength, Bush lied about yellow cake, Gonzo lied about NSA spying, FBI lies about Patriot act, CIA lies about kidnappings, secret prisons & torture.

Yup, just about as much "BS" as the American people can stomach. The Dems in Congress can expect many fresh faces to replaced the GOP's much heralded 'Lasting Majority' of yore come Nov 2008. As pay back for all this BS expect a Dem in the white house too!!

[briannorwood]

Hang on. Help is on the way! Only a year and a half from now, sanity will be restored.

And Dubya will be forever labeled as the worst president ever.

[azman80]

OOHHHH, I feel so much better that the FBI got slammed. What the heck does that mean?? Does the FBI director get fired, does the guys who did not report it get fired? Whats going to happen here?

[rafterman1]

Hence the reason why the Patriot Act is bad. Since we are all human, it will be abused no matter how well intentioned. Why even have the temptation by passing such overseeing legislation.

[homespunlady]

I used to laugh at this guy. I don't anymore.
http://www.infowars.com/listen.html
I wish he'd been wrong but with few exceptions he hasn't been.

[rsoxfan1123]

Surprise surprise. More incompetence during this republican tenure. Even the hard core repubs must be at least a little suspicious about our government under the Bush administration. It seems like they completely broke it.

[adventurepa]

Just another example why this president and administration needs to be impeached.
Kicked out the door.
When will America wake up?

[huskerarmy]

So please tell us again righties, exactly where do we draw the line at surrendering our rights?

[huskerarmy]

So please tell us again righties, exactly where do we draw the line at surrendering our rights?

[omega39-2009]

OOHHHH, I feel so much better that the FBI got slammed. What the heck does that mean?? Does the FBI director get fired, does the guys who did not report it get fired? Whats going to happen here?
Posted by azman80....

The same thing that happens to anyone who screws up in this administration, they are awarded the medal of "Freedom".

[notblue]

Seriously how many people here in these comment areas have had there rights infirnged on in any way? Please give specific details of the awful experience. I would interesting to hear even one direct example, not hearsay. It's a typical CBS article stating how are big bad government is ruining our privacy and way of life, what a crock! The only people who hate this stuff are the BAD guys. Maybe that's why there are so many protestors against the program here at the CBS comment areas. Based on most of the hate America, support the radical posts here at leftwing central it's starting to make sense.

[us_infidel]

So please tell us again righties, exactly where do we draw the line at surrendering our rights?
Posted by huskerarmy at 09:47 AM : Mar 09, 2007

Did they ask you for YOUR e-mails and records? The story conveniently glosses over WHOSE records were confiscated.....probably Abdul and Ahmed....in other words, who gives a sh*it about them.

Dude, I don't know where you live, but I hope the outside air temp heats up to about 50,000 degress. Until that happens, you left wing bed wetters just won't ever get the nature of the people we are fighting - and I don't mean in Iraq.

[grumpas]

"you left wing bed wetters just won't ever get the nature of the people we are fighting" posted by US_Infidel. We left wing bed wetters have always known who we were fighting. To bad all of you right wing bed wetter's don't have a clue who you are fighting! Most of the hi jackers were on 9/11 were Saudi. Isn't it odd that Bush took his revenge for 9/11 on Iraq??????? But, I don't suppose all of you super-patriots have ever thought to question Georgie's motives in this colosial blunder.

[clestes-2009]

Gee, who would have thought it? You have laws to keep the citizens safe from the govn, they work for 200 hundred years. Then someone decides that those laws protect the citizens too well so they decide to loosen them up and guess what happens?? The govn abuses its power!! No kidding. Why would anyone think Big Brother needed reining??

This is just another example of the way the neocon whitehouse has screwed the American people. They take our tax money and spend it on a needless war. The take our credit and plunge us into debt over the same stupid war. They take our young men and women throw them into the same stupid war and when those soldiers come home mained, there is no money to take care of them. They take away our freedoms and abuse our personal liberties.

Bush is responsible for all of the above. He could have stopped any of the abuses above, but he chose not to. And for that he will go down in US history as the president who FAILED to protect the American people. The president who lied to the people to plunge us willy nilly into war.

The worse president in US history.

[stevex47]

The corruption and hypocrisy(gingrich)out of this administration is truly a shame. Bush ought to be on tv 24 hours a day apologizing.

[random_radar]

"Seriously how many people here in these comment areas have had there rights infirnged on in any way?"

Here are three examples I personally have suffered since 9/11:

I was put on the no fly list even though I am a white, middle class citizen who has never been arrested, indicted, or convicted of any crime. I had to talk to a security official to get permission to board an airplane every time I flew. I asked why I was on the list, but was told that it was a secret and I could not be told. I publicized my story enough that I was taken off the list recently.

When I declared bankruptcy, federal law prohibits any creditor from suing you to collect. Nevertheless, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott chose to ignore the law and sue me to collect my student loans. I had to spend hundreds of dollars for a separate lawyer to defend myself. My bankruptcy lawyer said that although the Attorney General was clearly violating federal law, I would be better off just eating the costs and playing along to avoid trouble. I could have sued any other creditor for three times what I owed them plus punitive damages. But government officials don%u2019t care about obeying the laws you and I have to follow. We are governed by criminals.

I didn't comprehend how abusive our own government was until they came looking for me. I used to be a staunch ally of our government. Not anymore. Now I see that the rulers of our nation mean me harm. I am no longer naive.

[jn122736]

Notblue asked:
%u201CSeriously how many people here in these comment areas have had there rights infirnged on in any way?%u201D

US_Infidel asked:
%u201CDid they ask you for YOUR e-mails and records?%u201D
-------------------------

This response is not intended for their benefit, but instead is for all who may not be familiar with their past posts.

The rights of everyone who falls into the category of %u201Cfreedom and liberty loving American%u201D has been violated by the very fact that such surveillance is being carried out at all, by this or any other administration.

Whether or not one%u2019s emails or records have actually been seized is not the point. We may or may not be made aware of the seizure in any case. Virtually all correspondences in the United States are now being electronically monitored.

Those who condone the trashing of the constitution are as guilty as those doing the trashing.

[dallison7]

It had to happen. This neocon administration is eating itself.

[oleander8]

These abuses are exactly what all those nasty liberals said would happen.

I can't understand people who think just because they weren't on the list this time - they never will be.

[baddog777]

Seems some people are forgetting that the people who supply these records are not allowed to talk to the individual that the records belong to, so if your records were requested, you would never know.

[observantx]

The problem is not abuse of the Patriot Act. It is the Patriot Act itself.

This has to be the worst, most intrusive, and undemocratic piece of legislation ever passed by our Koolaid Kongress.

It paves the way for a complete police state.

It was passed so quickly that almost none of the members of Kongress have more than a chance to skim through it. With John Aschcroft screaming that "The terrorists are coming! The terrorists are coming!" like a demented Paul Revere the Kongress panicked and let the fascist neocon party have whatever they wanted.

So now we are saddled with two very misnamed threats to our freedom: The Patriot Act and the Dept of Homeland Security.

They have to really dump that "Homeland" nonsense. It sounds like it's straight out of "1984".

[tejasdemo]

The government who makes the laws and God blesses itself every 30 seconds does something illegal ?...again ?

Imagine that

[azman80]

People, seriously, most of us hate this administration and the donkeys that run the show with them. It wont be hard for each and everyone of us to send an EMAIL, JUST AN EMAIL, to our senators and the media on having Bush and Cheney impeached. What would it take? Maybe 15-20 minutes of our time to do so? We can all complain about all their fluckups till our blood runs dry, but until we do something about it, it really serves no purpose to make a statement to any of us Joe Shmoes here on this site. These guys have destroyed a lot of history and ruined it for a lot of the generations to come. The government has its "OWN" click, why not us "CITIZENS" make our own click and kick them out!!

[gkc99]

Wo the FBI is well on the way to becoming the Gestapo of the neocon New World Order, when all societies are run by and for the interests of the multinational corporations and their lackeys in the political establishment. Bushit is a prime example of a person who serves only his billionaire masters, but he's far from the only president who has used America's own secret police for personal and political advantage. It's a lesson what freedoms people will surrender when they are frightened, and Bushit/Cheney have done more to keep people frightened than any number of Muslim terrorists could. Doesn't the US Constitution give us the right to bear arms to defend the Constitution against fascist takeover. Didn't Justice Storey, the noted Supreme Court justice, call the Second Amendment "the palladium (guardian) of the liberties of the Republic"? Is there a message there?

[rafterman1]

I love the position that just because your rights haven't been violated, then anything goes. If you wait until it actually happens, then it's already too late to stop it. Maybe it is only Mohammed they are listening in on today. But it could be Jones or Smith tomorrow.

[gkc99]

Why won't our spineless elected representatives start talking IMPEACHMENT FOR BUSHIT AND CHENEY? I don't care how much stroking Bushit gave Pelosi at the SOU speech, she must get off her a$$ and start acting to save the USA from these neo-fascists! That's one reason people got so sick of Clinton Democrats--the Clintons are like America's Juan and Eva Peron, talking the people's interest but pursuing only their own interest. Don't we have anyone with any guts in Congress anymore?

[generey]

FBI Illegally Used Patriot Act, Audit Says

And??? Is this supposed to be a surprise???
Just biz as usual.

[jn122736]

The government has its "OWN" click, why not us "CITIZENS" make our own click and kick them out!!
Posted by azman80 at 11:21 AM : Mar 09, 2007
--------------------------
That may not be possible if legislation isn't SOON passed to ban electronic voting machines that do not have a verifiable paper backup and to actively and independently monitor all other electronic voting machines.

[scottyusa]

When the Patriot Act first came out the big worry was abuse by law enforcement. Touche'