FBI Finds It Overstepped Bounds in Collecting Data 107
truthsearch writes with a link to a Washington Post article about an eyebrow raising internal FBI audit recently released to the public. The document finds that, contrary to a document release back in March, the FBI frequently overstepped its bounds in collecting data on US citizens. The article states that the organization may have violated laws or agency rules 'more than 1,000 times'. "The new audit covers just 10 percent of the bureau's national security investigations since 2002. The vast majority of the new violations were instances in which telephone companies and Internet providers gave agents phone and e-mail records the agents did not request and were not authorized to collect. But two dozen of the newly-discovered violations involved agents' requests for information that U.S. law did not allow them to have."
Never (Score:5, Insightful)
still breaking the law? (Score:5, Insightful)
Compared To Bush's Wiretapping (Score:2, Insightful)
big suprise.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Never (Score:3, Insightful)
What should stun you is that they not only bothered to investigate it themselves, they've admitted to the public that they've done it. Well, maybe it doesn't stun you because you're so used to it but more people than not in this world live in countries where this would never get investigated, nevermind released.
They must have known (Score:3, Insightful)
Really? I'd never have guessed. (Score:3, Insightful)
Until there is serious punishment liked docked pay, a firing or prison time (depending on the severity) for blatent lawlessness on the part of the law enforcement agencies, they will continue to do as they please.
Re:Never (Score:5, Insightful)
Imagine what the NSA has gotten away with (Score:3, Insightful)
If this is what the FBI has gotten away with, it sends a shudder up my spine to think what the NSA has gotten away with (and is STILL getting away with). I wouldn't be a bit surprised to learn that they're randomly fishing the entire U.S. population: listening in on citizens' calls, opening mail, and perusing credit reports. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that they have the phones of every Democrat in Congress tapped and are passing along that info to the President. Nothing would surprise me anymore in this country.
Re:Small potatoes, but from the same potato Bush.. (Score:4, Insightful)
How the heck is this a "symptom of this runaway federal power binge"? Sounds more like extremely poor data security management at the service providers. Meanwhile, there were 22 cases out of a thousand in the audit where agents asked for more than they were authorized to get. That's hardly a runaway binge. Next time, please rtfa.
"collecting data on US citizens" (Score:3, Insightful)
Bad feds only half the problem (Score:5, Insightful)
And allow me to rephrase that for you:
There. Now we've covered both halves of this corrupt equation.
Costs are too great (Score:3, Insightful)
I _know_ that this is not likely to be a popular opinion. I _know_ that this is decidedly unpatriotic, but I want to say it anyway:
This just isn't worth it.
The cost of our 'war on terror' is far outstripping any harm that those 'terrorist' groups could have done to us. We have sacrificed the lives of young men and women to war than were lost on 9/11, by a long shot. We have likely spent, or at least will spend, far more money than we lost in that attack. We have lost our faith in our leadership's ability to keep us safe and happy at the same time. We're losing our civil liberties and are devolving into a police state.
WHY?
Is this all really, truly just because a handful of zealots MIGHT crash more planes into more buildings?
People joke about "if you do 'x', the terrorists win". In all seriousness, the truth is, if we are going to live in fear we may as well forfeit.
And the problem is? (Score:2, Insightful)
Listen up you primitive screwheads, I really think we should be playing to win, if we keep screwing around with these assholes, sooner or later they are going to get another major win and we will lose another major landmark. There is a difference between law enforcement against citizens and spying on foreign powers and their operatives inside our shores. So yes there should be strong safeguards to prevent intelligence data (collected with few rules) from crossing back into law enforcement activities, but spy vs spy stuff can't play under the same patticake rules we go after the mob under or we lose. Because the mob isn't out to KILL us, only sell us things we want anyway but the nanny state doesn't think we should have.
Criminal Cops (Score:5, Insightful)
Who at the FBI will even get fired for their crimes? Who will be charged? No one. They should be held to a higher standard than are civilians, because of the stakes at risk in their control, and the trust they're given based on their superior integrity. But instead, no one every gets fired, no one is ever charged.
We cannot be surprised when cops not only do crimes repeatedly when they're not punished, but are more tempted to do them, their integrity undermined. Because by failing to hold them to account, to pay for their crimes, we demonstrate that our laws are arbitrary, our government merely force, not justice.
Re:Costs are too great (Score:2, Insightful)
Of course. However, you have to ask yourself why 9/11 is enough to mount a large "war on terror" spending billions around the globe and what Iraq has to do with 9/11. The answer is kind of staring us all in the face. 9/11 provides a great excuse for military spending and filtering of contracts and dough to certain people in positions of power in certain corporations. Someone wanted us to go to war before 9/11, a whole lot of people wanted us to. 9/11 is the *excuse* for the killing of the young men, but it's definitely not the reason they are dying. 9/11 is the excuse for the domestic spying, but it's not the reason why it's being done. People in power love to create wars and police states if they have the stomach for it. It's clear that our present leaders do indeed have the stomach for it. It's been said before by someone, and again I'm probably misquoting, that if Bush didn't have 9/11 he would've had to make one. I'm not saying 9/11 was fake or anything (those 9/11 conspiracy people are nuts), but it was certainly very convenient for him and his cronies.
Re:And the problem is? (Score:1, Insightful)
I'm leaving the military after 18 years because of the arrogance this country is exhibiting. It's clear to me that our real problem is people like you who cannot look beyond a few terrorist trees, to see the forest. Then again, maybe we've already had our chance. Time for a global reset. I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Name's Ash. Housewares.
As a result of this stunning abuse (Score:4, Insightful)
Just putting it into perspective... There are abuses, and there are other abuses...
Re:Never (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh wait, no they haven't. There seem to be no consequences at all.