FBI Probes

Classified US documents indicate possible FBI violations

GG2.NET NEWS [24/10/2005]



CLASSIFIED US documents indicate that the FBI conducted clandestine surveillance, including improper searches and seizures of e-mails and bank records, on some American residents for as long as 18 months at a time without proper paperwork or oversight.

According to previously classified documents to be released, on Monday, records turned over as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit also reveal that the FBI has investigated hundreds of potential violations related to its use of secret surveillance operations, which have been stepped up dramatically since the September 11, 2001, attacks but are largely hidden from public view.

In one case, FBI agents kept an unidentified target under surveillance for at least five years, including more than 15 months without notifying Justice Department lawyers after the subject had moved from New York to Detroit, a local newspaper reported.

An FBI investigation concluded that the delay was a violation of Justice Guidelines and prevented the department from exercising its responsibility for oversight and approval of an ongoing foreign counterintelligence investigation of a US person. In other cases, agents obtained e-mails after a warrant expired, seized bank records without proper authority and conducted an improper un-consented physical search," according to the documents.

Although heavily censored, the documents provide a rare glimpse into the world of domestic spying, which is governed by a secret court and overseen by a Presidential board that does not publicize its deliberations.


the gaurdian u.k.

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