Lawmakers Vow Hearings on FBI Errors

The news that the FBI failed to follow its own basic rules and policies designed to protect civil liberties came at the end of a difficult political week for the Bush administration. The last several days have also seen the conviction of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff in the CIA leak case, growing controversy over the firings of federal prosecutors and escalating violence in Iraq.

Democrats quickly sought to capitalize.

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who had been pressing for a review of national security letters since 2005, said the report "confirms the American people's worst fears about the Patriot Act.

"It appears that the administration has used these powers without even the most basic regard for privacy of innocent Americans," Durbin said in a statement.

He called for "reasonable reforms" to the Patriot Act that have been proposed, but not acted on, in the past.

"We should give the government all the tools it needs to fight terrorism," Durbin said. "However, I continue to believe that the Patriot Act must include reasonable checks and balances to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans."

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), like Specter a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the problems identified by the inspector general were a "profoundly disturbing breach of public trust."

Schumer also promised that the panel would hold hearings and then likely consider legislation to rein in portions of the Patriot Act.

"This goes above and beyond almost everything they've done already," Schumer said of the allegations in the report. "It shows just how this administration has no respect for checks and balances."

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) demanded that Justice Department officials be held accountable but declined to specify if anyone should be fired or resign over the revelations.

"It is not enough for this administration to claim that it is upset by today's disclosures," he said. "It must also take full responsibility for the errors that occurred, hold the appropriate officials accountable for what happened, and, most important, ensure that it does not happen again."

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the report shows the need for an independent investigation of the Justice Department's anti-terrorism tactics.

"It confirms our greatest suspicions about the abuse of Patriot Act powers and, specifically, national security letter powers," Romero said. "The report is really only a description of the tip of the iceberg."

Staff writers Dan Eggen and Paul Kane contributed to this report.