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F.b.i. Criticised For Abuse
Of Power
Growing row in the US over FBI over-reaching
itself....and Senator Kyl wants even more secrecy.
Online gamblers are increasingly sensitive to the activities of
the US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation
enforcers following recent incidents involving online gambling company
executives and companies, and the controversial passage of the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the United States.
So new Reuters reports on a gathering storm over abuse of power
allegations against the FBI will be followed with interest by the
industry.
The Reuters report quotes the Justice Department's director general,
who said this week that the FBI abused its power by illegally or
improperly obtaining telephone, financial and other secret records
in investigations of terrorism or espionage suspects.
A report by Inspector General Glenn Fine's office sharply criticised
the FBI for how, without a court order, it demanded and received
records such as customer information from telephone companies, Internet
service providers, financial institutions and consumer credit companies.
"We believe the improper or illegal uses we found involve
serious misuses of national security letter authorities," Fine
said in releasing the report.
National security letters allow the FBI to compel the release of
private information without getting authority from a judge or grand
jury.
Vowing to investigate, Democrats in Congress seized on the report,
which comes as they step up criticism of President Bush's administration
for weakening civil liberties protections in its war on terrorism.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales praised the report for uncovering
"serious problems" in the FBI's use of national security
letters, his spokeswoman said.
Gonzales told FBI Director Robert Mueller the past mistakes "will
not be tolerated" and ordered new safeguards be set up at the
FBI, Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said.
Director Mueller called the finding of deficiencies "unacceptable".
"While we've already taken some steps to address these shortcomings,
I am ordering additional corrective measures to be taken immediately,"
he said.
The use of national security letters has grown dramatically, mainly
as a result of powers granted to the FBI under the USA Patriot Act.
In investigating abuses of authority, the report found 26 possible
violations, including requesting information without adequate authorisation,
improper requests under the law and unauthorized collection of telephone
or e-mail records. Of the 26 cases, 22 were the result of FBI errors
and four were caused by mistakes by those who received the request
for the information, the report said.
In reviewing 77 investigative files in FBI field offices, the report
found that 17 of them, or 22 percent, contained one or more possible
violations not identified by the field office or reported to FBI
headquarters as required.
In another finding, the report identified many cases of the FBI
improperly obtaining telephone toll billing records and subscriber
information from three telephone companies.
Although the report did not find any indication of intentional
criminal misconduct, it said there had been serious misuses of the
FBI's powers.
Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, said: "This report
proves that 'trust us' doesn't cut it when it comes to the government's
power to obtain Americans' sensitive business records."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat,
also vowed oversight hearings.
"The average American can take away the fact that you have
FBI officers who felt that they were above the law, and they could
just go in and look at anything they wanted on their own (and) would
not have to follow the law," he said.
In a relevant postscript to the Reuters story, it has emerged that
the man online gamblers love to hate, arch online gambling antagonist
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, plans an amendment to a bill before
the US Senate this week that proposes even greater secrecy.
Kyl's amendment seeks to criminalise the leak or publication of
any classified information contained in 28 reports that must be
submitted to Congress through the Improving America’s Security
Act of 2007, the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act
of 2005 and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act
of 2004.
__________________
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