Report Says FBI Misused Patriot Act

Records were falsified to hide the problem

By Jerry Garner

The US Patriot Act, signed into law in October 2001, was meant to provide critical tools to both intercept and obstruct acts of domestic terrorism in the United States. New reports by the US Department of Justice show that the FBI not only overstepped their authority in this regard, but even went so far as to falsify records to hide their snooping against private citizens.

The Patriot Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. This followed a landslide vote in the House of Representatives of 357 to 66, and a near unanimous vote of 98 to 1 in the US Senate. The law was passed in reference to the September 11 terror attacks on the United States, and was meant to give authorities broad-sweeping powers to identify and combat future acts of terror.

Unfortunately, it seems that the old saying of absolute power corrupting absolutely has proven true in this instance, at least according to the US Department of Justice audit released on Friday. The 126-page audit, conducted by Justice Department Inspector General Glen Fine, not only revealed an overuse of these new powers, but also proved that the FBI had under-reported their activities to Congress.

The audit charges that FBI agents sometimes demanded sensitive information without proper authorization, as well as improperly obtaining telephone records in non-emergency circumstances. Agent error and bad record keeping practices are blamed for the majority of these mistakes, and the audit claims to have found no indication of criminal activity. Opponents to the act may disagree.

"We believe the improper or illegal uses we found involve serious misuses of national security letter authorities," the audit concludes.

At the heart of the controversy are FBI “Security Letters”, which are one of the powers outlined in the Patriot Act. These letters, otherwise referred to as “Administrative Subpoenas”, are suppose to only be used in case of suspected terrorism or espionage. The subpoenas grant the FBI the authority to procure sensitive data from telephone companies, banks, credit bureaus, internet service providers and other businesses, without a warrant or without a judge even knowing that the act is carried out.

The audit reveals that the number of security letters issued by the FBI skyrocketed after the passage of the Patriot Act. An estimated 8,500 letters were issued by the Bureau in 2000. By 2003 the number had climbed to over 39,000 letters, and to more than 56,000 the following year.

The problem, and perhaps even criminal endeavor, is that the FBI vastly underestimated the number of letters issued in their reports to the US Congress. Official reports by the FBI told Congress that only 9,254 letters were issued in the years 2003 and 2004 combined. The reports deliberately underestimated the number of records seized by more than 85,000 instances, leaving many to question exactly why the authorities were not truthful with their reporting, as well as who should be held accountable for the deception.

FBI Director Robert Mueller stated that Fine’s audit was a fair and objective review, and continued on to describe the deficiencies outlined in the report as being unacceptable.

"We strive to exercise our authorities consistent with the privacy protections and civil liberties that we are sworn to uphold," Mueller said. "Anything less will not be tolerated. While we've already taken some steps to address these shortcomings, I am ordering additional corrective measures to be taken immediately."

The audit also cited instances of the FBI using “Exigent Letters” in an inappropriate manner. Exigent letters are signed by FBI officials who are not authorized to sign a Security Letter. In at least 700 instances, these exigent letters were used to obtain telephone information and email records. The letters were sent out with the false statement that the FBI had requested subpoenas for the requested information, when in fact, they had not.

Several US Senators have already expressed outrage over the findings of the audit, which is required to be carried out annually, and have vowed the strengthen oversight of the FBI in reference to these matters. A spokesperson for the office of US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales commended the office of the Inspector General for uncovering the very serious problems surrounding the FBI’s use of National Security Letters.

Related News Stories:

Justice Dept.: FBI misused Patriot Act

Conyers: FBI's Patriot abuses 'potentially without limit'

Digg Report: FBI Misused Patriot Act